Shedding light on the kindling effect

Managing bipolar disorder proactively is important not only in helping prevent mood episodes, but also in thwarting what some doctors refer as to the kindling effect—the worsening of the disorder over time. The kindling effect is a process that´s known to occur in the brains of people with seizures. Seizures are electrical storms in the brain, triggered by chemical changes or other physical stresses on the brain cells. With every storm, the brain can become more and more sensitized. Eventually, the brain can seize over and over again without any type of trigger. The cells seem to “memorize” the electrical storms and repeat them. Neurologists aggressively focus on treating seizures to prevent kindling, which progressively increases the frequency and severity of seizures.
Seizures and mood disorders_ particularly bipolar disorder- are thought to have many similarities, chemically and electrically. Some experts suggest that the kindling effect can occur in bipolar disorder—that each mood episode is like a storm that with each episode the brain becomes more sensitized, eventually having more frequent episodes that require fewer emotional triggers. According to the theory, early in the course of the illness, a major stressor is required to trigger a mood episode, but as more and more episodes spontaneously instead of waiting for a trigger.

Doctors haven´t clearly identified the kindling effect in bipolar disorder, and if it occurs, it´s likely much more complex that what happens with seizures. Perhaps some brains are more vulnerable to kindling than others. Whether or not the kindling model accurately pertains to bipolar disorder, reducing the frequency of mood episodes is beneficial for your health and quality of life in many ways.

Source: Bipolar Disorder, candida Fink, MD, Joe Kraynak