Mood Swings

You sleep through the alarm. The coffee pot breaks and the bus whizzes by without stopping. You sit on the curb and begin to feel the unmistakable dawning of a bad mood. At other times, it's nothing you can put your finger on, just the underlying sense that all the cylinders aren't running, and things are getting off to a bad start. From Stony Brook, N.Y., to Long Beach, Calif., psychologists are trying to learn why our moods change and why we have bad ones. Although conclusions differ, researchers and clinicians at several U.S. universities are beginning to find some answers.

"When the Mood Strikes (by Joan Libman, Sept. 20) seems to imply that psychologists are astounded to discover that mood-swings "may" have a biological origin. As can be attested to by anyone who has had to deal with a family member who is a manic-depressive, the biochemical cause of mood swings have been known about for decades. And the evidence is now stronger than ever: Remember just a year or two ago, when a defective gene was found in the manic-depressive members of an extended Amish family?

Marc Siegel's observations about the film "The Savages" reflect my own experience with a mother who died after a long and difficult battle with microinfarct dementia ["Movie's Details of Dementia Ring True," Jan. 14]. A few months earlier, the movie "Away From Her" presented a romanticized picture of a woman who had been placed in a fictional care facility that offered her a large, private, well-appointed room. It made no reference to incontinence, mood swings, others in the facility with devastating physical and mental impairments, nor the medical complications associated with the condition.

This is the 12th post in a series focusing on this year's free-agent class. Player: Delonte West Former team: Dallas Mavericks Type of free agent: Unrestricted Positives: The Lakers reportedly expressed interest in West before the beginning of last season, in hopes his 6-foot-3 frame and feisty play could help both their backup and point-guard spots. The Lakers don't need such help anymore at point guard since acquiring Steve Nash, but the team still lacks a definitive shooting guard to play behind Kobe Bryant.

U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr.  is undergoing treatment for bipolar II depression at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., the facility said Monday. Mayo Clinic said the diagnosis came after extensive evaluation.  “Congressman Jackson is responding well to the treatment and regaining his strength,” it said in the statement. The statement added: “Many Americans have bipolar disorder. Bipolar II disorder is a treatable condition that affects parts of the brain controlling emotion, thought and drive and is most likely caused by a complex set of genetic and environmental factors.

Whether the situation surrounding a move is positive or negative, moving is always stressful. "Moving disrupts daily life, and there is comfort in routines," said Irene Goldenberg, a family psychologist at UCLA's Neuropsychiatric Institute in Westwood. "The farther away you move from a culture you're used to, the more difficult moving is." Moving is more than changing residences, agrees Newport Beach therapist Joanie Heinemann.

From just the evidence of cold stats, Pacific Serenades has ample reason to be proud of itself, having completed 14 full seasons and commissioned no less than 56 new works, with a world premiere on every program this season.

OK, sports fans, for the prize behind Door No. 3, what's a "Muffin Spencer-Devlin?" I'll give you a clue: it's not a new breakfast short order from the chain that gave you the Big Mac. It's not a poodle with "Ch." in front of its name that just won best-in-show at Westminster. It's a woman golfer, one of the best, and one of the favorites down here this week at the $430,000 Nabisco Dinah Shore tournament at Mission Hills.

Grandaddy "Sumday" (V2) *** "OK with my decay" doesn't exactly rival the lyrics of "My Generation" or "Rust Never Sleeps" as rock anthem material, but it's a breakthrough for Jason Lytle, the leader of this Modesto band. It's not an easily reached philosophy for him, though, and the struggle to embrace it is the essence of Grandaddy's fourth album. The opening "Now It's On" has him revved with purpose, but the next song, "I'm on Standby," is an emotional retreat.

They are some of the most troubled children that psychiatrists ever see. They have raging tempers and engage in reckless behaviors that frequently land them in the principal's office, even the hospital. But are they bipolar? In the last 15 years, diagnoses of bipolar disorder in children have skyrocketed as much as fortyfold, according to some estimates. The condition — defined by severe mood swings, between depression and mania, lasting for weeks or month at a time — has traditionally been considered a lifelong condition in adults and is treated through tranquilizers and antidepressants.