Millions of individuals are affected and living with bipolar disorder everyday. Bipolar disorder is present in approximately 5.7 million American adults, or an equivalent of 2.6 percent of the US population (Kerner, 2014). Bipolar disorder is also known as “manic depression.” It is a mental disorder that is marked by the constant changing of moods. Most of the time it goes from periods of depression to periods of being extremely happy or being very irritable. Bipolar disorder is a common, serious mental health problem, which can impede on all areas of life. People living with bipolar disorder face many challenges in maintaining a regular lifestyle. While there is no cure for bipolar disorder it is important for the person affected to understand
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399). This disorder can be classified as the “Cinderella” of common major mental health problems (Wellman, 2007). People with bipolar disorder generally will experience highs (mania) and lows (depression) in extremes, which can be difficult for an individual to accept. While little is known about what exactly causes bipolar disorder, we do know that it is a chemical imbalance within the brain (Newberg, Catapano, & Zarate, 2008). “Although a number of biologic and environmental factors likely are involved, bipolar disorder appears to be strongly linked to heredity. About 60% of people with bipolar disorder have a family history of the illness” (Setness, 2005). Episodes of mania or depression can last anywhere from days, weeks, or months. Some individuals have ongoing symptoms, where others can go months even years in between episodes. Bipolar disorder is based on a combination of clinical indicators from a list of diagnostic criteria (Kerner, 2014). Symptoms of the disorder vary from person to person and have disease course characteristics (Kerner, …show more content…
“Sustained attention has been widely studied in bipolar disorder and relates to the capacity to maintain selective processing over prolonged periods of time” (Clark & Sahakian, 2008). There are several performance tests that can be used to measure attention. These include the Rapid Visual Information Processing task in the Cambridge Neuropsychological Automated Testing Battery (CANTAB) assessment. During the assessment the individual monitors a stream of targeted stimuli that occur unpredictably and infrequently (Clark & Sahakian, 2008).
Executive functioning refers to a collection of psychological processes that include working memory, planning, flexible behavior, and shifting. These processes are closely related with the prefrontal cortex. The executive function impacts an individual’s ability to complete normal everyday tasks and activities (Clark & Sahakian,
399). This disorder can be classified as the “Cinderella” of common major mental health problems (Wellman, 2007). People with bipolar disorder generally will experience highs (mania) and lows (depression) in extremes, which can be difficult for an individual to accept. While little is known about what exactly causes bipolar disorder, we do know that it is a chemical imbalance within the brain (Newberg, Catapano, & Zarate, 2008). “Although a number of biologic and environmental factors likely are involved, bipolar disorder appears to be strongly linked to heredity. About 60% of people with bipolar disorder have a family history of the illness” (Setness, 2005). Episodes of mania or depression can last anywhere from days, weeks, or months. Some individuals have ongoing symptoms, where others can go months even years in between episodes. Bipolar disorder is based on a combination of clinical indicators from a list of diagnostic criteria (Kerner, 2014). Symptoms of the disorder vary from person to person and have disease course characteristics (Kerner, …show more content…
“Sustained attention has been widely studied in bipolar disorder and relates to the capacity to maintain selective processing over prolonged periods of time” (Clark & Sahakian, 2008). There are several performance tests that can be used to measure attention. These include the Rapid Visual Information Processing task in the Cambridge Neuropsychological Automated Testing Battery (CANTAB) assessment. During the assessment the individual monitors a stream of targeted stimuli that occur unpredictably and infrequently (Clark & Sahakian, 2008).
Executive functioning refers to a collection of psychological processes that include working memory, planning, flexible behavior, and shifting. These processes are closely related with the prefrontal cortex. The executive function impacts an individual’s ability to complete normal everyday tasks and activities (Clark & Sahakian,