Image via Wikipedia According to the authors of “Protective effect of CRHR1 gene variants on the development of adult depression following childhood maltreatment: replication and extension“ [PMID: 19736354], theirs is “the first instance of Genes x Environment research that stress has been ascertained by more than 1 study using the same instrument“. The gene they [...]
Posts Tagged ‘Mental disorder’
First ever replication of a GxE in psychiatric genetics
Posted in CRHR1, Uncategorized, tagged Add new tag, Depression, Development, Emotion, Genetics, Hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis, Major depressive disorder, Mental disorder, Mental health, Single-nucleotide polymorphism, Stress on April 6, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Bigger genetic studies, more missing heritability
Posted in Chromosome structural variants, Intronic or repetitive sequences, Uncategorized, tagged Add new tag, Depression, Genetic testing, Mental disorder, Mental health, Twin, Biology, Genetics, DNA, Gene, Single-nucleotide polymorphism, Genome-wide association study, bipolardisorder, Twin study, Copy number variation, Genetic variation on April 5, 2010 | 1 Comment »
Twin studies have long suggested that genetic variation is a part of healthy and disordered mental life. The problem however – some 10 years now since the full genome sequence era began – has been finding the actual genes that account for this heritability. It sounds simple on paper – just collect lots of folks [...]
rs35753505 C-alleles make de l’Art Brut of the brain
Posted in Fusiform gyrus, Middle frontal gyrus, NRG1, middle occipital gyrus, tagged 23andMe, Add new tag, Art, Brain, Cognition, DNA, Frontal lobe, Functional magnetic resonance imaging, Fusiform gyrus, Memory, Mental disorder, Mental health, Outsider art, Painting on March 10, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
According to wikipedia, “Jean Philippe Arthur Dubuffet (July 31, 1901 – May 12, 1985) was one of the most famous French painters and sculptors of the second half of the 20th century.” “He coined the term Art Brut (meaning “raw art,” often times referred to as ‘outsider art’) for art produced by non-professionals working outside [...]
Genes in the brain are like genes in muscles
Posted in Basal Ganglia, Caudate nucleus, DAT, Dopamine, Putamen, Substantia nigra, Subthalamic nucleus, tagged ADHD, Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, Basal Ganglia, Brain, Cognition, Development, Frontal lobe, Gene expression, Genetic testing, Genetics, Health, inhibition, Mental disorder, Mental health, Neural network, Personalized medicine, Substantia nigra on March 5, 2010 | 1 Comment »
Image by theloushe via Flickr ** PODCAST accompanies this post** I have a little boy who loves to run and jump and scream and shout – a lot. And by this, I mean running – at full speed and smashing his head into my gut, jumping – off the couch onto my head, screaming – [...]
A look inside brains that carry (my) genetic risk for autism
Posted in CNTNAP2, Cerebellum, Frontal cortex, Frontal pole, Fusiform gyrus, Rostral fronto-occipital fasciculus, Thalamus, White matter, tagged 23andMe, Add new tag, autism, Autism spectrum, Brain, Development, Frontal lobe, Functional magnetic resonance imaging, Genetic testing, Genetics, Grey matter, Health, Mental disorder, Mental health, Neural development, Neurodevelopmental, synaptogenesis, White matter on March 5, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Image via Wikipedia The A-to-T SNP rs7794745 in the CNTNAP2 gene was found to be associated with increased risk of autism (see Arking et al., 2008). Specifically, the TT genotype, found in about 15% of individuals, increases these folks’ risk by about 1.2-1.7-fold. Sure enough, when I checked my 23andMe profile, I found that I’m [...]
Genetic road signs for super-size coffee SUV drivers
Posted in ADORA2A, DRD2, Uncategorized, tagged 23andMe, Anxiety, Brain, Caffeine, Coffee, Cognition, Disorders, DNA, evolution, Genetic testing, Genetics, Mental disorder, Mental health, panic disorder, Personalized medicine, Psychoactive drug, Starbucks, Stress on March 4, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
If you’re a coffee drinker, you may have noticed the new super-sized portions available at Starbucks. On this note, it may be worth noting that caffeine is a potent psychoactive substance of which – too much – can turn your buzz into a full-blown panic disorder. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for psychiatry outlines a [...]
Coping with the shifting sands of development one grain at a time
Posted in SAPAP3, Striatum, tagged Add new tag, Adolescence, Brain, Chemical synapse, Development, Mental disorder, NMDA, NMDA receptor, Obsessive–compulsive disorder, Walter Dean Myers, Young Landlords on February 22, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Image by mbrownstone via Flickr Walter Dean Myers, an author of The Young Landlords and many other classic coming of age novels once remarked, “The special place of the young adult novel should be in its ability to address the needs of the reader to understand his or her relationships with the world, with each [...]
FMR1 points to mechanisms of tactile defensiveness in autism spectrum disorders
Posted in FMR1, Somatosensory cortex, Thalamus, tagged autism, Autism spectrum, Brain, Cognition, critical period, Development, Mental disorder, Mutation, pruning, Rett Syndrome, sensory overload, synaptic plasticity, synaptic pruning on February 13, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Image by cobalt123 via Flickr If you have a minute, check out this “Autism Sensory Overload Simulation” video to get a feel for the perceptual difficulties experienced by people with autism spectrum disorders. A recent article, “Critical Period Plasticity Is Disrupted in the Barrel Cortex of Fmr1 Knockout Mice” [doi: 10.1016/j.neuron.2010.01.024] provides some clues to [...]
Semaphorins integrate the sweetness and development of our cortical 6-layer cake
Posted in RLN, SEMA(1-7), tagged Brain, cerebral cortex, Circuitry, Cognition, Development, economics, Frontal lobe, Gene expression, Mental disorder, Mental health, Messenger RNA, neural migration, Neuron, Prefrontal cortex, schizophrenia, Stem cell, University of Pittsburgh on January 26, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Image via Wikipedia For a great many reasons, research on mental illness is focused on the frontal cortex. Its just a small part of the brain, and certainly, many things can go wrong in other places during brain/cognitive development, but, it remains a robust finding, that when the frontal cortex is not working well, individuals [...]
rs4680 helps me tonically ponder the Burger King menu and phasically choose the least healthy items
Posted in COMT, Cingulate cortex, Frontal cortex, Hippocampus, tagged Brain, economics, Frontal lobe, Functional magnetic resonance imaging, Gene expression, Mental disorder, Mental health, Neuron, Parkinson's disease, Gene, Cognition, Neural network on January 20, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
One of the complexities in beginning to understand how genetic variation relates to cognitive function and behavior is that – unfortunately – there is no gene for “personality”, “anxiety”, “memory” or any other type of “this” or “that” trait. Most genes are expressed rather broadly across the entire brain’s cortical layers and subcortical systems. So, [...]
Suffocation and the developmental continuity between childhood separation and panic disorder
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged Biology, Cognition, Development, DSM, Emotion, fear, Genetics, Mental disorder, Mental health, panic disorder, parental loss, separation anxiety disorder, Stress, Twin on January 11, 2010 | 1 Comment »
Image by Corrie… via Flickr Coping with fear and anxiety is difficult. At times when one’s life, livelihood or loved one’s are threatened, we naturally hightenen our senses and allocate our emotional and physical resources for conflict. At times, when all is well, and resources, relationships and relaxation time are plentiful, we should unwind and [...]
SLC1A1 SNPs as tiny deliveries on payment of big promise
Posted in SLC1A1, tagged 23andMe, economics, Genetic testing, Health care, medication, Mental disorder, Mental health, Personalized medicine, Biology, DNA, obsessive-compulsive, anti-psychotic, Glutamate, genetic association, clozapine, side-effect on December 15, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Image via Wikipedia In their forecast “The World in 2010” special issue, the Economist points to “The looming crisis in human genetics” wherein scientists will reluctantly acknowledge that, even with super-cheap genome sequencing tools, we may not soon understand how genetic variation contributes to complex illness. The argument is a valid one to be sure, [...]
Reciprocal genetics of autism vs. schizophrenia
Posted in Chromosome structural variants, Intronic or repetitive sequences, tagged autism, Autism spectrum, Cognition, Genetic testing, Mental disorder, Mental health, Neural development, Neurodevelopmental, schizophrenia on December 7, 2009 | 1 Comment »
The recent paper, “Comparative genomics of autism and schizophrenia” by Bernard Crespi and colleagues provides a very exciting take on how genetic data can be mined to understand cognitive development and mental illness. Looking at genetic association data for autism and schizophrenia, the authors point out that 4 loci are associated with both schizophrenia and [...]
Genes for Down syndrome isolated in mouse model
Posted in DYRK1A, KCNJ6, tagged Chromosome, Development, Down syndrome, Genetics, Hippocampus, Karyotype, Mental disorder, Mental health, mouse-model, Neurological Disorders, Prenatal, synaptogenesis, Trisomy 21 on December 2, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
The human brain is renown for its complexity. Indeed, while we often marvel at the mature brain in its splendid form and capability, its even more staggering to consider how to build such a powerful computing machine. Admittedly, mother nature has been working on this for a long time – perhaps since the first neuronal [...]
Video library of mental illness
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged Depression, Major depressive disorder, Mental disorder, Mental health, Psychology, schizophrenia, symptoms, videos on November 30, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Image via Wikipedia pointer to symptommedia.org – fantastic video resource of specific symptoms of mental illness. “The intention of these clips are to be used in the classroom setting as visual compliments to the written description of symptoms for psychological phenomena found in the DSM handbook.”
Indulging my inner rat over a few drinks
Posted in ADH1C, Amygdala, CDH13, Caudate nucleus, GATA4, Striatum, tagged 23andMe, Addiction, Brain, Gene expression, Genetic testing, Mental disorder, Mental health, Personalized medicine, Biology, Genetics, Genome-wide association study, Alcoholism, Alcohol, GWAS on November 16, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Image by Scrunchleface via Flickr A recent GWAS study identified the 3′ region of the liver- (not brain) expressed PECR gene (rs7590720(G) and rs1344694(T)) on chromosome 2 as a risk factor for alcohol dependency. These results, as reported by Treutlein et al., in “Genome-wide Association Study of Alcohol Dependence” were based on a population of [...]
Genetic causes and non-genetic consequences of schizophrenia play out within 2mm of neocortex
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged Archives of General Psychiatry, Brain, cerebral cortex, Development, Frontal lobe, Genetics, Mental disorder, Mental health, neocortex, Neuron, schizophrenia, synapse, synaptogenesis on November 15, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Image by Biking Nikon PDX via Flickr One of the difficult aspects of understanding mental illness, is separating the real causes of the illness from what might be secondary or tertiary consequences of having the illness. If you think about a car whose engine is not running normally, there may be many observable things going [...]
Know thy epigenome in fatal purpose of the Heart
Posted in Cerebellum, Frontal cortex, NTRK2, tagged Depression, Development, DNA methylation, Epigenetics, Frontal lobe, Gene expression, Mental disorder, Mental health, Suicide on November 11, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Image by sludgegulper via Flickr Few events are as hard to understand as the loss of a loved one to suicide – a fatal confluence of factors that are oft scrutinized – but whose analysis can provide little comfort to family and friends. To me, one frightening and vexing aspect of what is known about [...]
Development of autism vs. schizophrenia depends on a mere 600 kilobases of DNA on chromosome 16
Posted in Chromosome structural variants, tagged autism, Bipolar disorder, Brain, Development, DNA, Gene expression, Mental disorder, Mental health, Mood, schizophrenia on October 27, 2009 | 1 Comment »
Image via Wikipedia File this story under “the more you know, the more you don’t know” or simply under “WTF!“ The new paper, “Microduplications of 16p11.2 are associated with schizophrenia” [doi:10.1038/ng.474] reveals that a short stretch of DNA on chromosome 16p11.2 is – very rarely – duplicated and – more rarely – deleted. In an [...]
Minds on the Edge
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged economics, healthcare policy, Mental disorder, Mental health, Public Broadcasting Service, Television program on October 10, 2009 | 1 Comment »
pointer to: amazing project on the complexities of managing mental illness in America today. Scientific progress makes for policy dilemma in an era of economic decline. Heartbreaking. From the website: MINDS ON THE EDGE: Facing Mental Illness is a multi-platform media project that explores severe mental illness in America. The centerpiece of the project is [...]
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