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Posts Tagged ‘Mental disorder’

Minds on the Edge

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , 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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podcast: Rett Syndrome Research Trust

Posted in MECP2, tagged , , , , , , , , on October 1, 2009 | Leave a Comment »

It was a delight today to chat with Monica Coenraads, Executive Director of the Rett Syndrome Research Trust.  The RSRT has teamed up with a deeply focused world-class team of research scientists to translate the fruits of basic research on Rett syndrome into viable cures.   Whether you are a scientist, student or concerned family member, [...]

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Too much yin and not enough yang in cortical networks of MeCP2 mutant mice

Posted in MECP2, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on September 30, 2009 | 1 Comment »

Image via Wikipedia In previous posts, we have explored some of the basic molecular (de-repression of chromatin structure) and cellular (excess synaptogenesis) consequences of mutations in the MeCP2 gene – a.k.a the gene whose loss of function gives rise to Rett syndrome.  One of the more difficult aspects of understanding how a mutation in a [...]

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Support staff deserves some of the blame for Rett syndrome deficits

Posted in MECP2, White matter, tagged , , , , , , , , , on September 28, 2009 | Leave a Comment »

Celebrities and politicians are known for their love of the spotlight.  “Me, me, me!”  are the words to get ahead by in our modern media circus.   As well, it can even be – in the unglamorous world of science – where, in characteristically geeky form, the conventional wisdom is to shout, “my hypothesis, my [...]

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echoblog: Lives left behind in the era of institutionalization

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , on September 24, 2009 | Leave a Comment »

Image by audioeric via Flickr pointer to: The Willard Suitcase Exhibit on the documentation of forgotten belongings – hundreds of suitcases of personal belongings – of former residents of Willard Psychiatric Center.

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resourceblog: Understanding the molecular basis of cognitive and social impairment in the autism spectrum disorders

Posted in HDACs, MECP2, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on September 24, 2009 | Leave a Comment »

Image via Wikipedia The cognitive and emotional impairments in the autism spectrum disorders can be difficult for parents and siblings to understand and cope with.  Here are some graphics and videos that might assist in understanding how genetic mutations and epigenetic modifications can lead to various forms of social withdrawl commonly observed in the autism [...]

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Epigenetic puppetmasters pull strings of cognitive development from a safe distance

Posted in HDACs, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on September 21, 2009 | 2 Comments »

Image by eugene via Flickr The homunculus (argument) is a pesky problem in cognitive science – a little guy who might suddenly appear when you propose a mechanism for decision making, spontaneous action or forethought  etc. – and would take credit for the origination of the neural impulse.  While there are many mechanistic models of [...]

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echoblog: “survey says” folks for genetic testing

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , on September 19, 2009 | Leave a Comment »

Image via Wikipedia pointer to: Razib Khan’s results (600+ respondents!) survey on genetic testing and psychiatric illness.  Very informative!

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Genes to behavior @ HUGO

Posted in 5HTT, MAOA, tagged , , on September 6, 2009 | Leave a Comment »

Image by Dollar Bin via Flickr pointer to: download Power Point presentation hosted on the HUGO website entitled, “From the human genome to human behaviour: how far have we travelled?” (both English and Russian text) – by Ian Craig and Nick Yankovsky, Education Council Human Genome Organisation. Covers recent findings on MAOA and 5HTT several [...]

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White-matter correlates of gene penetrance reveal key brain circuits for dystonia

Posted in Cerebellum, Motor cortex, Thalamus, Thap1, Torsin A, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on August 14, 2009 | Leave a Comment »

Image via Wikipedia Within the genetic news flow, there is often, and rightly so, much celebration when a gene for a disease is identified.  This is indeed an important first step, but often, the slogging from that point to a treatment – and the many small breakthroughs along the way – can go unnoticed. One [...]

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Resting state networks interact with APOE genotype to reveal risk decades before Alzheimer’s degeneration

Posted in APOE, Frontal cortex, Hippocampus, Middle temporal gyrus, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on August 4, 2009 | Leave a Comment »

Image via Wikipedia Few genes have been studies as intensely as apolipoprotein E (APOE).  In particular, one of its variants, the epsilon-4 allele has been especially scrutinized because it is correlated with an earlier onset (about 10 years earlier than average) of Alzheimer’s Disease.  Among the many roles of APOE – its just a tiny [...]

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Oh jeebus, experts say psychiatric diagnoses are the weak component of modern research

Posted in ANK3, CACNA1C, ZNF804A, tagged , on August 1, 2009 | Leave a Comment »

Image via Wikipedia A recent summary statement from the Cross-Disorder Phenotype Group of the Psychiatric GWAS Consortium [doi 10.1192/bjp.bp.108.063156] highlights the recent convergence of GWAS findings in bipolar disorder (ANK3 & CACNA1C) and schizophrenia (ZNF804A).  They also suggest that, “the most useful biological categories and/or dimensional definitions and measures are still unknown” and that “there [...]

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Genetic risk expressed in early regulator of gene expression

Posted in NEUROG1, tagged , , on June 29, 2009 | Leave a Comment »

Image via Wikipedia The basic helix-loop-helix transcription factor, neurogenin-1 is known to regulate neural development and neurite outgrowth.  As such, it makes for a particularly interesting point to begin to understand mental illness and its complex developmental origins.  The recent paper by Ho et al., “Basic helix–loop–helix transcription factor NEUROG1 and schizophrenia: Effects on illness [...]

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Autism genetic risk modulating the healthy social brain

Posted in Amygdala, AVPR1a, tagged , , , on June 20, 2009 | 2 Comments »

Comparisons of “healthy” vs. “disordered” genomes in psychiatry have not yet revealed sequence differences that can reliably predict the onset of mental disability.  Rather, such disability seems to arise from as-yet-undetermined complex, probablistic interactions of genetic risk and environmental factors over the course of development.  With this as the case, the demarcations between “healthy” and [...]

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My child carries genetic risk for mental illness. Now what do I do?

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , on April 13, 2009 | 1 Comment »

Image by giumaiolini via Flickr As the personal genomics era dawns, it becomes clear that the new genetic information will lead to more new questions than answers.  Consider a well-intentioned parent who finds any number of suspicious risk factors in the genome of their child.  Perhaps a genetic risk variant for mental illness – an [...]

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Facial expressions did not give away genetic risk for schizophrenia

Posted in Amygdala, DLPFC, Frontal cortex, tagged , , , , , on March 13, 2009 | Leave a Comment »

Image by ibiscus27 via Flickr One of the difficulties in understanding mental illness is that so many aspects of mental life can go awry – and its a challenge to understand what abnormalities are directly linked to causes and what abnormalities might be consequences or later ripples in a chain reaction of neural breakdown.  Ideally, [...]

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BOLD new inquiry on genetic basis of mental disability

Posted in Actin, ARHGAP18, CDC34, DLPFC, GTPase, RSRC1, TGF-alpha, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on February 5, 2009 | Leave a Comment »

Image via Wikipedia One of the mental functions many of us take for granted is memory – that is – until we’re at the grocery store.  If you’re like me, you dart out of the house confident that you don’t need a list since you’re just going to “pick up a few things” – only [...]

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Noradrenergic relief of problematic impulses can be seen through the slit(rk1)

Posted in ADRA2A, Locus coeruleus, Noradrenaline, SLITRK1, tagged , , , , , on January 9, 2009 | Leave a Comment »

Image via Wikipedia A recent report by Katayama and colleagues [doi 10.1038/mp.2008.97] shows that the the gene slitrk1 – a known risk factor for the developmental disorders  Tourette’s syndrome and trichotillomania gives rise to increased levels of noradrenaline when the gene is inactivated in a developing mouse model.  In the U. S., the most frequently [...]

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Dendritic branching a good thing ? sez6 sez it ain’t so

Posted in SEZ6, tagged , , , , , , , on January 7, 2009 | Leave a Comment »

Image via Wikipedia If you like gardening, the doldrums of winter can be dreary indeed. Although I’d never admit to it, my neighbors might swear to having seen me outside strangely (pathetically) counting the number of branches on my icicle-laden roses and rhododendrons.  In any case, I do admit to spending way too much time [...]

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Piccolo leads a long commute away from major depressive disorder

Posted in Kinesin, PCLO, tagged , , , on January 6, 2009 | Leave a Comment »

Image via Wikipedia Commuting to work is a total drag.  Commuting to work in New York City is not just a total drag, but THE definitive commuting nightmare.  Still, when one ponders the masses of people (more than 2 million each day) who tread in, out and around Manhattan, its pretty remarkable that one can [...]

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