ShmoopTube

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And here's your shmoop du jour brought to you by lithium the

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number one target of verbal abuse among teenagers all right lithium is used to [girl holding a mobile phone]

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treat bipolar disorder and is believed to generally affect which

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neurotransmitter and here are the potential answers..GABA, dopamine,

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norepinephrine, serotonin, glutamate... All right let's start by quickly recalling

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what bipolar disorder actually is and no it doesn't describe a grizzly bear [Grizzly bears in the snow]

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caught in an awkward love triangle with two snowy sweethearts it's actually a

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manic-depressive illness when an individual cycles between periods of

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elevated moods and periods of severe depression to answer our question all we [Mans face between two bowls of fire]

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need to do is identify which neurotransmitter would be most closely

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linked to this dramatic shift in moods well in the brain GABA regulates brain

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activity it actually serves as an inhibitor slowing down neuron firing [GABA molecule drawn in notepad]

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which can aid in calming an individual and reducing anxiety well it explains

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why substances like alcohol and marijuana get their effect by boosting [Snoop Dogg with the GABA molecule]

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it in the brain not quite what we're looking for though, Dopamine meanwhile

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plays a major role in reward motivated behavior and is associated with the

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pleasure system of the brain but while it might explain an elevated mood it [Molecule riding a bike over a hill]

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wouldn't exactly explain the cycling between elevated and depressed moods so

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this one doesn't cut the mustard either Norepinephrine is more closely linked

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to a cycle but that cycle is of being awake and asleep it's said to mobilize [Norepinephrine molecule riding a bike]

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the brain and body for more action releasing less during sleep and more

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during times of anxiety stress or danger Oh wrong cycle wrong answer and

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serotonin would be right if we were only talking about those elevated moods, it's

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said to be the primary contributor to feelings of well-being and happiness but

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even though it would make things a lot easier for our grizzly friend if it were [Grizzly bears cuddling on a park bench]

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called mono polar it's not and so D doesn't work either well glutamate is

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the answer we're looking for for over 50 years lithium has been used to treat

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people with bipolar disorder by targeting glutamate and excitatory

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neurotransmitter which affects both depressive and manic episodes, too bad

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it doesn't also work on awkward love triangles [Grizzly bears in a love triangle]

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