GENETICS

GENETICS
Behavioural genetics deals with understanding how both genetics and the environment
contribute to individual variations in human behavior. We inherit our genetic material –
that is, DNA – from our parents. What is inherited is the genes that give rise to the
development of specific physiological processes that contribute to specific traits and
behavior. What is inherited may be the building blocks for complex behaviors.
Psychologists argue that an individual may have a genetic predisposition towards a
certain behavior; however, without the appropriate environmental stimuli, the gene is not
“turned on” and the behaviour is not expressed.
The diathesis–stress model is a psychological theory that attempts to explain behaviour
as a predispositional genetic vulnerability expressed as a result of stress from life
experiences.
Genetic arguments of behaviour are based on the principle of inheritance. Humans have
23 pairs of chromosomes, with approximately 25.000 genes. We now know this number as
a result of the worldwide research initiative started in 1990 called the Human Genome
Project. The goal of this project was to map and sequence the human genome.
Caspi (2003)
Caspi et al (2003) carried out a study on the role that gene mutation and epigenetics
may play in major depressive disorder.
Diathesis-stress theories of depression predict that if an individual has a specific
genetic predisposition toward a disorder (genotype), then interaction with stressors in
the environment may cause these genes to be expressed. The aim of this study was to
determine whether there is evidence for a gene-environment interaction for a mutation of
the serotonin transporter gene - 5-HTT. Caspi and his team looked at a sample of 847
New Zealand 26-year-olds. All were members of a cohort that had been assessed for
mental health on an every-other-year basis until they were 21. They were divided into
three groups based on their 5-HTT alleles:
Group 1 had two short alleles.
Group 2 had one short and one long allele.
Group 3 had two long alleles.
The participants were asked to fill in a “Stressful life events” questionnaire which asked
them about the frequency of 14 different events - including financial, employment, health,
and relationship stressors - between the ages of 21 and 26. They were also assessed for
depression.
People who had inherited one or more short versions of the allele demonstrated more
symptoms of depression and suicidal ideation in response to stressful life events. The
effect was strongest for those with three or more stressful life events. Simply inheriting
the gene was not enough to lead to depression, but the genes interaction with stressful
life events increased one’s likelihood of developing depression.
Weissman (2005)
Weissman carried out a longitudinal family study with a sample of 161 grandchildren and
their parents and grandparents to study the potential genetic nature of Major Depressive
Disorder. The study took place over a twenty year period, looking at families at high and
low risk for depression. The sample of depressed patients was selected from an
outpatient clinic. The non-depressed participants were selected from the same local
community. The sample of parents and children were interviewed four times during this
period. Data was collected from clinicians, blind to past diagnosis or to data collected. In
order to establish credibility, researcher triangulation was used. Children were evaluated
by two experienced clinicians. The researchers found high rates of psychiatric disorders
in the grandchildren with two generations of major depression. Children had an increased
risk of any disorder if depression was observed in both the grandparents and the parents,
compared to children where their parents were not depressed. On the other hand, if a
parent was depressed but there was no history of depression in the grandparents, there
was no significant effect of parental depression on the grandchildren.
Kendler (2006)
Kendler and his team wanted to investigate three questions in their study:
1. Past studies suggest a 35 - 45% heritability of major depression. Would this be true
in a large Swedish sample?
2. Are there significant gender differences in the heritability of major depression?
3. Is there evidence that genetic and environmental factors in major depression differ
over time?
The sample was made up of approximately 15,000 complete twin pairs listed in the
national Swedish Twin Registry. In order to gather their data, the researchers used a team
of trained interviewers to carry out telephone interviews. The interviewers assessed
lifetime major depression by using modified DSM-IV criteria. Most of the twins met the
criteria for a diagnosis of major depression at some point in their life while only a few
twins voluntarily discussed a history of antidepressant treatment. In addition to this
information, the interviewers also asked questions about the twin’s “shared environment”,
when they were living in the same household, and their “individual environment”; that is,
adult personal life events.
The results indicate that the concordance rates for major depression were significantly
higher in women than men. In addition, the correlations were significantly higher
inmonozygotic than in dizygotic twins. They also found no correlation between the
number of years that the twins had lived together and lifetime major depression. There
were also no significant differences seen in the roles of genetic and environmental
factors in major depression in the three cohorts spanning birth years 1900-1958. This
study suggests both that the heritability of major depression is higher in women and that
some genetic risk factors for major depression are sex-specific.

GENETICS

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