Investigation: Importance of Gene Variation in relation to Mental Disorders

Summary of:  Common Genetic Factors Found in 5 Mental Disorders | National Institutes of Health (NIH)

The NIMH (National Institute of Mental Health) funded an international research study that consists of scanning through thousands of genetic markers searching for a variation that is often found in people with a specific condition, this study is called GWAS (genome-wide association studies). This study was focusing on the 5 major mental disorders, autism, ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), bipolar disorder, major depression disorder, and schizophrenia. Over 33,000 patients were tested, all of which had a previous record of being diagnosed with at least 1 or the 5 disorders. Their control group consisted of 28,000 people who had no record of any major psychiatric disorders. Results showed variations that were associated with all of the 5 major disorders but more specifically, a variation was found in two of the genes that help regulate the flow of calcium into neurons. One of the genes found are known to affect brain circuitry, which involves emotions, thinking, attention, and memory. This gene is called CACNA1C and was linked to 3 of the 5 major disorders, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and major depression disorder. Throughout the study an illness-linked variation was also discovered by researchers in specific regions of chromosomes 3 and 10. Researchers found that along the region of chromosome 3, there were variations that illustrated the strongest links to the 5 disorders. 

Misdiagnosing due to overlapping symptoms has been a reoccurring problem for decades. Finding common gene variants within these 5 major disorders can be seen as small in comparison to everything else that goes into a mental disorder, such as the environmental and physiological factors. Despite what may be seen as a small discovery, the results obtained from the study show that in the future gene variants can potentially be used to not only predict but accurately diagnose patients, which can be huge for the future. 

Source 

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2015, May 15). Common genetic factors found  in 5 mental disorders. National Institutes of Health. Retrieved January 19, 2023, from https://www.nih.gov/news-events/nih-research-matters/common-genetic-factors-found-5-mental-disorders

Source Evaluation:

This internet source was published by the NIH (National Institute of Health) and it was published on March 18, 2013. The purpose of this website is to share information that was found based on a study that was done. Overall, I found this website to be very informative and interesting. 

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