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Children Exhibit Behaviors That Are Associated With Bipolar Disorder Essay

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Children exhibit behaviors that are associated with Bipolar Disorder (BPD) as early as 2 years of age. However, many children are not diagnosed until older due to the subjectivity of diagnosing children with mental disorders while their brains are still developing. This leads to a prolonged delay in diagnosis and treatment. However, with recent research, we are able to view and compare brain structures of those with BPD to those who are not affected by BPD. By MRI and fMRI scans, there are regions in the brain that are associated with BPD at certain sizes and activity levels. Individuals with Bipolar show decreased brain volumes in emotion related neurocircuitry, such as the amygdala and the prefrontal cortical regions (Marrus, Bell, & Luby, 2014). With being able to see structural abnormalities within the brain we are also able to determine if treatments for these disorders are effective. With the use of proper medication, volumetric differences occur in the regions of the brain that are associated with BPD and therefore provide evidence that brain structure abnormalities can be “normalized” with medication. However, even with treatment, individuals with BPD tend to follow the trend that they are still more susceptible to drug abuse, aggressive behavior, and binge drinking later on in life (Swendsen et al., 2010). Additionally, BPD used to always be considered the sole mental illness an individual had but recently it has been shown that BPD is comorbid with other diseases,

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