The Relationship Between Genetics and Mental Health

Answer

The Relationship Between Genetics and Mental Health

Introduction

Mental health is vital in early stage of human life, right from childhood to adolescence and even through adulthood. According to Meier and Deckert (2019), the incidence of mental illness is common and serious brain disorders affect not only the people’s way of thinking but also their emotions, motivations, and social interactions. In the United States, mental illnesses affect one in every six adults. The annual prevalence among US adults for major depressive episodes is 7.2 percent whereas anxiety disorders affects 19.1 percent and bipolar disorders 2.8 percent (Smoller et al., 2019). The nature and degree of severity of mental illnesses range from mild to moderate to severe. From the different mental health conditions, anxiety is the leading mental health problem in the United States (Coleman et al., 2019; Meier & Deckert, 2019). Specifically, anxiety can include conditions such as panic attacks and phobias that has an effect on not only personal relationships but also job performance and schoolwork. Diseases of the brain; irrespective of their pathophysiological basis, have been found to have an ultimate effect on the behavior of individuals through the alterations of the functions of the brain circuits (Bralten et al., 2018). Mental illnesses are the leading cause of disability because when left untreated they can cause severe, physical, behavioral, and emotional problems (Arnett, Trinh, & Bernier, 2019). As such, identifying the root causes of mental health issues is vital to designing the most appropriate way to handle them when they occur.

It has been known for a long time; and from twin studies, that all primary psychiatric disorders have a component of inheritance. According to Smoller et al. (2019), anxiety disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorders (OCD), and post-traumatic stress disorders (PTSD) among others, are 20-45 percent inherited. However, Bralten et al. (2019) reports that anorexia and alcohol dependence are about 20-45 percent inherited. In some cases, some of the probabilities of the conditions being inherited is very high. For instance, in the case of schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, ADHD, and autism spectrum disorders, the level of inheritance ranges in the upwards of 75 percent (Meier & Deckert, 2019). In 2013, a study by global psychiatric genomics consortium established that people with mental health conditions such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorders share specific DNA variations. However, it was not clear from the study how the genetic alternations might lead to the symptoms of such illnesses. According Smoller et al. (2019), genetic factors contribute to almost every human condition because they confer susceptibility or resistance. In the occurrence of a mental health illness, the genetic factors influence the severity and progression of the condition.

The risk of mental illness has been found to run in families. Apart from twin studies, family, and adoption studies have demonstrated that the risk of transmission of major depression, autism, schizophrenia, and other mental illnesses is due to heredity (Arnett, Trinh, & Bernier, 2019). In specific, Bralten et al. (2018) state that DNA serves to transmit information that is found in the sequential order of the four nucleotide bases across generations, control organism’s development as well as cells and organs within it. The information contained in the DNA is then transferred to proteins through other molecules including transfer and structural RNA (Meier & Deckert, 2019). A majority of studies; especially on molecular genetics of mental disorders, have been geared towards the identification and cloning of genes that are responsible for the risk of the disorders and how they influence the course of such disorders as well as how they promote resilience. However, in the case of mental health problems, the risk is genetically complex. In specific, a trait; such as vulnerability to mental illness, arises from multiple (as opposed to a single) defect (Bralten et al., 2018). Additionally, the function of one of the genes may sometimes be depended on prior functions of one or more other related genes (epistasis) (Ramaswami & Geschwind, 2018). Moreover, even a combination of genes has not been found to lead to an accurate determination of the occurrence of mental illnesses because they can interact with non-genetic factors.

From the studies explored, it is well established that genetics and the environment affect mental health. Additionally, it has been found that mental disorders arise from multiple genetic switches. As such, it has become increasingly difficult for researchers and genetic scientists to determine the risk of inhering a mental disorder or the extend of the disorder passing to their children. Also, the incidence of singe-gene alternations to mental illnesses are rare. Despite the multiple studies conducted to establish the impact of genetics on mental health, only a few studies have sought to determine how genetics are related to mental health. Additionally, there is no agreement as to specific genetic alterations that lead to mental illnesses.

Problem Statement

Mental disorders place a significant burden on the society including individual sufferers as well as those who provide care to them (Sahithya & Reddy, 2018; Swain & Behura, 2016). Sadly, the pathophysiology of these disorders is multifactorial, complex, and not well comprehended (Sigitove et al., 2017). Comprehending the root cause and as such the processes that trigger the development of these disorders has been a major challenge since the founding of the discipline of psychiatry (Freitas-Silva & Ortega, 2016). In its history, the field of psychiatry has produced research on the somatic determinants of mental disorders, thus doing relatively well in increasing understanding on these disorders and their subsequent characterization in biological terms. However, there is still a lot that remains unknown regarding the paths that lead to the development of these disorders. There is consensus that family history remains the greatest risk factor in the same respect, a fact that implicates genes in the development of mental illness (Albert, 2017; Weissman et al., 2017). Present interest to uncover the genetic alterations/switches that lead to mental disorders follows a common hypothesis in literature that the trajectory of adaptive behavior is modified by genetic makeup (Albert, 2017). An example in this respect is the positive selection that genes associated with many a mental disorder (for instance schizophrenia) undergo. This hypotheses and others of its can be understood in the context of genetic alterations and other changes in the brain’s neurochemistry, physiology, function, and structure. Based on this, the processes that are involved in the development of the disorders under focus can be understood more clearly. While early genetic studies focusing on mental studies found significant associations between specific genes and certain mental disorders, these associations could not be confirmed later by subsequent research. This generated controversy on the significance of these genes and brought confusion in the identification of specific genetic markers for each disorder. Over time, it has emerged that while genetic markers contribute to the development of mental illnesses, they fail to exclusively account for contextual etiology. This can only mean that there is more to these disorders than just genetic inheritance. Thus, there is need to uncover and comprehend the multifactorial etiology and genetic complexity of mental disorders. A good point of departure for this undertaking is investigation of the genetic alterations/switches that lead to the disorders under focus.

The proposed genetic research is necessitated by a need to elucidate the etiology of these disorders and as such inform the development of more effective preventive, therapeutic, and diagnostic practices. By giving insight into the genetic alterations/switches and as such the processes that underly neuroprogression in mental disorders, findings of the research will find application in clinal and other settings to, importantly, improve diagnostic practice and help in not only the development of drug-based treatments and therapies but also in  ensuring more accurate tailoring of treatment to individual patients . Additionally, it will add to available knowledge, which can then be used to formulate relevant hypotheses that could help clinical practice in various ways. Indeed, there is need to increase understanding of the genetic alterations/switches that lead to mental disorders because by so doing, the field of psychiatry and the pharmaceutical industry will receive a boost in terms of knowledge on  the development of better curative pharmacological treatments, thus reducing the burden of these disorders on society.

Purpose of The Study

The purpose of this study is to investigate, through a literature search, the genetic alterations/switches that lead to mental disorders, thereby elucidating the etiology of these disorders. While mental disorders place a significant burden on society (Sahithya & Reddy, 2018), their pathophysiology is multifactorial, complex, and not well comprehended (Sigitova et al., 2017). The study is necessary to increase the understanding of contextual pathophysiology, a development that will be beneficial to clinical and psychiatry practice. Such an understanding will help in the development of more effective preventive, therapeutic, and diagnostic practices. The insight that will be gained from this study will be applied to clinical and other healthcare settings to help in such aspects as diagnostic practice and the development of pharmacological treatments and therapies as well as ensuring more accurate tailoring of treatment to individual patients.

The literature search methodology has been chosen for this study because it is considered to be “an excellent way of synthesizing research findings to show evidence on a meta-level and to uncover areas in which more research is needed, which is a critical component of creating theoretical frameworks and building conceptual models (Snyder, 2019: p. 333). While the genetic alterations/switches that lead to mental disorders are not well understand, significant research efforts have been made in this respect, and there is an appreciable body of genetic literature. This will be explored and through research questions that have been formulated to act as guidance in the same respect. The research questions include

1. Which specific genetic alterations are associated with mental disorders?
2. What specific neural circuits are associated with mental health functions?
3. What percent of mental illness is genetic?
4. How can genetic research on neurobiology and mental health be used to diagnose and treat mental disorders?

Theoretical Framework

The study is premised upon the Biomedical model, which posits that mental disorders “are literal diseases of the brain” (Deacon & McKay, 2015: p. 231). In other words, there is no difference between mental disorders and other physical diseases but that the former occurs in the brain. Among the core tenets of this model that is of direct relevance to this study is its assertion that mental disorders result from biological abnormalities occurring in the brain (Farre & Rapley, 2017).

Indeed, the Biomedical model has dominated United States mental healthcare for over three decades now. Its development can be traced back to significant seminal events, for instance the discovery that a bacterial micro-organism caused general paresis, which could be cured through administration of penicillin. This discovery reinforced the thinking and view that mental disorders could have biological causes, and as such could be addressed through biological treatments (Andreasen, 1985). Then followed a psychopharmacological revolution in the 1940s and 1950s which saw the discovery of specific compounds that suppressed or reduced the symptoms of disorders like anxiety, mania, depression, and psychosis among others (Engen, 1977). Shortly afterwards, chemical imbalance theories were developed, and they gave a scientific foundation for medications targeting the disorders’ presumed pathophysiology (Schilkraudt, 1965). As the Biomedical model slowly gained ground and attracted a following, there were attacks and criticisms from some quarters, but such did not stop bodies like the APA, NAMI and SAMHSA from carrying out aggressive promotion campaigns.  With time, the concept of mental disorders being biological diseases of the brain was solidified in American culture, hence a further establishment of the Biomedical approach to understanding, preventing, and treating mental disorders. Today, the dominance of this model becomes clear when considering the pronouncements of major healthcare organizations in the US, for instance NIDA and NIHM; they often term mental disorders as real diseases affecting a crucial body organ (the brain), thus the need to consider them seriously just like other physical diseases.

Based on the Biomedical model, mental disorders are now understood as brain diseases, whose cause can be traced to biogenetic abnormalities occurring in the brain. In the context of this study, justification for this model follows its dominance and wide acceptance as the best approach to understanding, preventing, and treating mental disorders. Indeed, mental disorders are now understood to be neurobiological diseases resulting from chemical imbalances and biological changes in the brain, thereby prompting treatment approaches that target specific pathophysiology. By investigating the genetic alterations/switches that lead to mental disorders, this study will be seeking to yield knowledge that will be beneficial to the field of psychiatry and by extension the pharmaceutical industry in terms of the development of more effective preventive, therapeutic, and diagnostic practices.