The GLP aggregated and excerpted this blog/article to reflect the diversity of news, opinion and analysis.
Combining research on genetics and cognitive biasesโour mental โfiltersโ for interpreting the worldโwill contribute to a greater understanding of mental disorders and could lead to improved therapies, Elaine Fox of University of Oxford and Chris Beevers of the University of Texas at Austin suggest in a perspective published yesterday (July 19) in Molecular Psychiatry.
โWe suggest that while no gene โcausesโ mental ill health, some genes can make people more sensitive to the effects of their environmentโfor better and for worse,โ Fox said in a statement.
Studies show that cognitive bias can greatly influence sensitivity to oneโs environment…for example, inducing a negative attentional bias can increase a personโs response to a stressful situation, whereas reducing the negative bias can decrease that personโs stress response.
Share this article
Genetics studies have identified variants, such as the serotonin transporter-linked polymorphic region (5-HTTLPR) short (S) allele, which make people more sensitive to their environments. People with this S allele are more likely than people with the long (L) variant to develop psychiatric disorders after experiencing adversity in childhood, studies have shown.
Read full, original post:ย Study: Influence of Genetics on Mental Health Depends on Environment
