Brain cells of people with bipolar disorder work differently than those of healthy people, according to researchers who carried out a stem cell study of the disease.

The investigators said their research might one day lead to a better understanding of bipolar disorder and new treatments for the disease,  Newsmax Health reports.

The study authors took skin stem cells from people with and without bipolar disorder and transformed them into neurons similar to brain cells. It's the first time that stem cell lines specific to bipolar disorder have been created, the researchers said.

They discovered distinct differences in how the two sets of neurons behave and communicate with each other. 

"This gives us a model that we can use to examine how cells behave as they develop into neurons," study co-leader Sue O'Shea, a professor in the department of cell and developmental biology of the University of Michigan, said in a university news release.