ABSTRACT
Over the past ‘‘decade of the brain,’’ major efforts have been expended to advance fundamental knowledge of the pathogenesis and pathophysiology of the major psychiatric disorders, among which bipolar affective disorders (BD) figure prominently. Of the various strategies implemented for this enterprise, such as genetic, neuroimaging, and molecular and cellular biological studies, the postmortem brain research strategy has been much underutilized despite its potential for permitting a more direct approach to test specific pathophysiological hypotheses of BD. In this regard, the state of the field has advanced slowly from the stagnant condition of a decade ago as addressed in the earlier comprehensive reviews of this area [1,2]. It is not clear at this juncture whether this reflects ongoing difficulties in accessing suitable postmortem brain material for study or the continued reluctance of researchers to use this strategy based on perceived or real limitations to the postmortem approach; likely both apply. This is indeed unfortunate because postmortem brain material can provide an important tool and medium to address specific pathophysiological issues, especially when used in conjunction with other investigative strategies and with the ‘‘right’’ question being asked. This has been no better exemplified than in the use of postmortem brain to directly test for alterations in neuronal signal transduction in BD, as reviewed later in this chapter.
