Outstanding Thesis Award

A. Marlene Klingeman, an M.S. in Psychology graduate, was awarded Walden University’s first Outstanding Thesis Award for The Etiology of Bipolar Disorder: A Glial Hypothesis. Her thesis consists of a literature review and two proposed studies, one with humans and the other with an animal model.

Klingeman, who has a degree in molecular biology and microbiology, chose a more scientific research project because of her background, and also because her best friend has bipolar disorder, a disease Klingeman says is often misunderstood. “The only way to dispel misunderstandings about the illness is to establish a definite etiology rooted in biology and to communicate the findings to the general public,” Klingeman says.

The cause of bipolar disorder is currently viewed as a combination of factors: genetic predisposition leading to biochemical instabilities and environmental influences. The underlying mechanisms and neuroanatomical manifestations of bipolar disorder abnormalities, however, are largely unknown.

The nervous system comprises neurons and glial cells. Glial cells provide nutritive support and greatly influence many cellular processes essential to normal neuronal activity. “Postmortem and imaging studies of the prefrontal region of the brains of individuals with bipolar disorder have revealed a reduction in the number of glial cells and changes in the density and size of neurons and neuronal activity,” Klingeman says.

Her working hypothesis is that the level of glial cell involvement corresponds to increased or decreased neuronal activity and levels of calcium that result in a greater frequency of manic or depressive episodes. Klingeman proposed two parallel studies to test the hypothesis.

Klingeman notes that her literature review found a dearth of research on the role of glial cells in bipolar disorder and hopes that her paper may encourage further examination of glial cells’ potential involvement in the disorder.

Dr. Christos Constantinidis and Dr. Gary Burkholder, both in the School of Psychology, were Klingeman’s thesis committee members. “Her completed thesis is a model of the breadth and depth of knowledge one can expect from a thesis,” Constantinidis says.