Videos

Felicia Sorensen has a lovely voice. I would Cry The Day I Take The Tree Down if my niece hadn't already taken the tree down. ^__~ …besides, I don't cry over artificial Christmas trees 'cause it's the impending absence of the scent of pine that saddens me.

The full song (vocals by Felicia Sorensen; music by Michael McLean) http://grooveshark.com/s/I+Cry+The+Day+I+Take+The+Tree+Down/3Dc1Hc

This music is by Joseph LoDuca feat. Felicia Sorensen: "Once, I was jaded / Thought I knew a few things / Understood so little / Had so much to lose…" http://grooveshark.com/s/Once+Song+for+The+Film+Brotherhood+Of+The+Wolf/4Usemk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6rLQJtNVo90 "Turn the lights off in this courtroom / while the jury decides what to do with me / I was stupid, a little crazy / Is this what love is supposed to be?"

To clarify: No, symptoms of mood disorder didn't influence my reasoning to get married nor did they have any influence on why I chose to dissolve my marriage. Each major decision took me a lot of time to make- neither were easily or quickly made. Anxiety has trained me to look before I leap; I'm not an impulsive person. I hesitate now to trust my own judgment by itself, which is good because I'll turn to others for guidance and to gain outside perspective more often.

I had dismissed my intuition because I really wanted something- because I voluntarily chose a difficult route, I learned this the hard way. I'm a better person for it, and there's no need for me to repeat that particular experience.

Want to learn about how CACNA1C and Rap1 gene variants and Calcium Channel Blockers relate to the pathophysiology and treatment of Bipolar Disorder? To begin, http://bipolarnews.org/?tag=calcium-channel

2013 June 17, "Psychiatric Disorders Linked to a Protein Involved in the Formation of Long-Term Memories" http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/06/130617104519.htm

2008 Feb 4, "Calcium Is Spark Of Life, Kiss Of Death For Nerve Cells" http://www.ohsu.edu/xd/about/news_events/news/2007-news-archive/022807-calcium-regulate-nerves.cfm

Basics of a human brain, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6RbPQG9WTZM

Voltage-gated calcium ion channels, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7MSDS6jKJSA

Nerve cell action potentials, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifD1YG07fB8

2008 Aug 18, "Bipolar Disorder And Gene Abnormalities: Sodium, Calcium Imbalances Linked To Manic Depressive Episodes" http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080817223548.htm

2010 June 18, "Possible Mechanism Identified for How Lithium Treats Bipolar Disorder" http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/06/100617102410.htm

2011 Feb 17, "Treatment for Manic-Depressive Illness Restores Brain Volume Deficits" http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/02/110216083131.htm

2013 Feb 28, "Mental illnesses share common DNA roots, study finds" http://vitals.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/02/27/17121643-mental-illnesses-share-common-dna-roots-study-finds?lite

" "We aimed to identify specific variants underlying genetic effects shared between the five disorders in the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium: autism spectrum disorder, attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder, bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder, and schizophrenia,"

"They linked a considerable number to four places in the genome: a big stretch of chromosome 3; another part of chromosome 10, and two very specific genetic areas known to be involved in controlling cell function called calcium channels."

Action Potential within neurons, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHnBL5eifhA

2009 October 15, "Henry Markram: A brain in a supercomputer"

A metaphor: Sugar is the kindling; Calcium is the spark; Methylxanthines (caffeine, and /or theobromine which is in chocolate) and amines (phenylethylamine, also in chocolate) are the accelerant.

Fluctuating phenylethylamine (PEA) level is correlated with affective disorder (mood disorder) symptoms, likely influenced by monoamine oxidase (MAO) gene variants:

1982, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/6953460 "Fluctuating high urinary phenylethylamine excretion rates in some bipolar affective disorder patients."

1986, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3792411 "Urinary phenylethylamine correlates positively with hypomania, and negatively with depression, paranoia, and social introversion on the MMPI."

1988, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3339341 "Increase in urinary beta-phenylethylamine preceding the switch from mania to depression: a "rapid cycler"."

1986, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3944066 "Clinical studies on the phenylethylamine hypothesis of affective disorder: urine and blood phenylacetic acid and phenylalanine dietary supplements."

1997, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9326944 "Increased stress response and beta-phenylethylamine in MAOB-deficient mice."

1979, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/504988 "Phenylethylamine in paranoid chronic schizophrenia."