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MENTAL HEALTH Materials provided here are neither intended nor suitable for individuals needing practical assistance with specific mental health problems of their own or of friends/family/colleagues. For such situations, people should contact local mental health agencies, doctors, or other health care professionals. Some access points are provided here.

Center for Science in Society

• Genetics Holds Clues to Mental Disorders, 1996
  Generaldiscussion of genes and mental illness reprinted from The Dallas Morning News.

• Gene Hunting, June 1999
  A clear presentation from NIMH of what researchers believe about the genetics of mental illness and the current direction of research.

• Behavioral Genetics
  Information on the definition of behavioral genetics, biological basis, how it is studied, implications for society and links.

• Genetics and Mental Disorders
  From NIMH, this executive summary presents information from the NIMH Genetics Workgroup on determining genetic influences in mental health disorders.

• Researchers Discuss Genetics of Mental Illness, February, 2000
  Carlos N. Pato and Michele T. Pato, a husband-and-wife team of psychiatrists at UB, share some of the latest developments in their research on "Breaking the Genetic Code of Mental Illness".

• Mental Illness: A 'Mayday' Response from Genetics?
  An article on the difference between the potent, but misleading, association between madness and creativity and the realities of trying to find a genetic cause for a variety of mental disorders.

• The Genetics of Mental Illness: Implications for Practice
  Discoveries in genetics and neuroscience can be expected to lead to better models that provide improved representation of the complexity of the brain and behaviour and the development of both. There are likely to be profound implications for clinical practice.

• Genes and Behavior: A Complex RelationshipNov-Dec, 1999
  The article presents the difficulty of discerning the relationship between genes and complex behavior and the combination of nature and nurture in contributing to the individuality of behavior.

• Genetics Revolution to Bring Rapid Changes to HealthcareMarch, 2001
  Fundamental changes in the practice of medicine will be here sooner than anyone may have realized, thanks to rapidly emerging genetic advances made possible by the recent publication of the human genome.

• APOE4 May Simply Detect Brain Aging, February 28, 2002
  A Duke University team has found signs of early brain aging in people who have the APOE4 marker. Is this early Alzheimer's, or something new?

• Human Genome Search Implicates Multiple Genes in Parkinson’s, November 2001
  This study searched the entire human genome for regions linked to Parkinson’s disease and found evidence that multiple genes may contribute to development of the disease.

• NIMH Genetics Initiative Study Steers Alzheimer's Disease Research in New Direction
  Findings of families with Alzheimer's Disease indicate that a gene, previously thought to account for up to half the cases of the disease occurring late in life, is associated primarily with a much smaller fraction of people -- those in whom the disease develops under age 70.

• Genetics and Alzheimer's Disease
  Recent excitement has centered around the discovery of the relationship between the apolipoprotein E (apoE) gene and AD.

• Scientists Suspect New Genetic Risk Factor for Late Onset Alzheimer’s Disease, December 2000
  Three new, separate research studies suggest that a gene or genes on chromosome 10 may be risk factors for late onset Alzheimer’s disease (AD).

• Genetics of Alzheimer's Disease
  This page attempts to answer some of the more common questionsabout Alzheimer's disease and its genetics.

• Genetics and Alzheimer's Disease
  Many people become concerned that they may have inherited the gene for Alzheimer's disease and that they may pass it on to their children. This web page outlines the present state of knowledge about inherited risk.

• Facts About Genetics and Alzheimer's Disease
  This article discusses whether ALzheimer's is heredity, the genes that influence the risk of developing Alzheimer's, and tests that determine the risk potential of developing Alzheimer's.

• Genetics Not Significant to Developing Typical Parkinson's Disease, January 1999
  Genetic factors do not play a significant role in causing the most common form of Parkinson's disease (PD), according to a study to be published in the January 27, 1999 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

• Genetics of Parkinson's Disease, February 2002
  This page attempts to answer some of the more common questions about Parkinson's disease and its genetics.

• Duke Researchers Find Strong Genetic Link to Parkinson's Disease, November 2001
  Duke University Medical Center researchers have completed a genomic screen of Parkinson's disease suggesting that multiple genes are involved in the origins of the most common form of Parkinson's disease that occurs later in life.

• Genetics of Parkinson's Disease
  This page attempts to answer some of the more common questions about Parkinson's disease and its genetics.

• The Genetics of Parkinson's Disease
  This article includes information on the search for a gene, gene discovery, and genetic risk.

• Learning About Addiction From the Genome, February 2001
  The sequencing of the human and other mammalian genomes will help us to understand the biology of addiction by enabling us to identify both genes that contribute to individual risk for addiction and those through which drugs cause addiction.

• Addictive Cocktail: Alcoholism and Genetics, February, 2001
  Research into the genetics of alcoholism has muddled along because of the complexity of the disease, but the project has led to a slew of new discoveries that may trigger more effective pharmacological solutions.

• The Genetics of Alcoholism
  A discussion of why genetic research is conducted on the development of alcoholism.

• Discovery That Common Mood Disorders Are Inherited Together May Reveal Genetic Underpinnings, January 2002
  The inheritance patterns of panic disorder and bipolar illness have concluded that they probably are not separate diseases, but different forms of a shared and complex biological condition.

• An Update on the Search for Genes for Bipolar Disorder, September 1996
  Article aimed at mental health professionals as well as physicians covering the evidence for heritability of bipolar disorder.

• The Genetics of Bipolar Disorder
  Highlights of a lecture by Ann E. Pulver, Sc.D. discuss the role of genetics in bipolar disorder.

• Gender Differences in the Genetic Epidemiology of Major Depression
  This article reviews the current state of knowledge about gender differences in the genetic epidemiology of major depression.

• Major Affective Disorder
  A technical article presenting information on the involvement of genetics in types of major affective disorders.

• The Genetics of Bipolar Disorder
  Highlights of a lecture by Ann E. Pulver, Sc.D. discuss the role of genetics in bipolar disorder.

• Study Fingers Schizophrenia Genes: But Findings Depend on Ethnic Group , December 2001
  In the largest study in the U.S. looking at genes for schizophrenia, researchers have pinpointed two particular areas that may play a big role in some groups of people.

• Schizophrenia Genes Discovered, May 2000
  Scottish scientists say they've identified two genes that contribute to the development of schizophrenia.

• Schizophrenia-Related Gene Site Reported, June 2000
  Researchers supported in part by NIMH have discovered evidence for the existence of a gene on Chromosome 1 that appears to confer vulnerability to schizophrenia.

• Genetics of Schizophrenia and Affective Disorder: An OverlapFebruary 1997
  The genetics involved in determining whether or not schizophrenia and affective disorder are two distinct disorders or they are on the same continuum.

• Genetic Variant Increases Risk of Schizophrenia, June 2001
  Researchers from NIMH have found that a common genetic variant in an enzyme involved in dopamine metabolism is linked to poor memory function and increased susceptibility to schizophrenia.

• Autism and genetics
  This page attempts to answer some of the more common questions about autism and its genetics.

• The Genetics of Autism, September 2000
  The author discusses genes and autism, and their combination with other factors (i.e., environment) that impact behavior.

• Duke Geneticists Unraveling the Tangled Web of Autism, January 2000
  Less than three years after beginning a search for genes that confer a risk of developing autism, Duke geneticists have found evidence of two defects that may be linked to the complex combination of behaviors called autistic spectrum disorder.

• Autism
  The article discuses topics related to autism, such as whether it can be inherited, the impact of chemical factors, chromosomes, and brain volume.

• Researchers Identify Gene Common to Many Autism Cases, November 2000
  Researchers funded by NIH have identified a gene that may predispose people to developing autism. Symptoms of autism were more common in people who inherited the variant gene from their mothers than in those who inherited the same gene from their fathers.

• Genetics: Parental Imprinting in Autism
  Researchers at Duke University's Center for Human Genetics have found a new way to look at how genes contribute to the disease.

• Researchers Find New Insights Into the Genetic Foundations Of Autism, August 2001
  In collaboration with their European colleagues, scientists funded by the NIH have identified regions of four chromosomes that appear to be linked with the disorder.

• The Complexities of Autism: Scientists Identify Genetic Component August 2001
  This article presents information on how researchers are learning about the genetic link with Autism.

• Geentics of Childhood Disorders, October 2000
  A technical article discussing ADHD and whether it is a noradrenergic disorder.

• Cheese Mutant' Models Mental Deficit, February 2002
  Albino zebrafish offer a model for mental retardation in humans. The fish appear to lack an enzyme co-factor linked to damage of the central nervous system.

• In the Genes: Sweaty Palms: Not Just a Case of Nerves, March 6, 2002
  People with excessively sweaty palms may have their genes, and not their nervousness, to blame.

• Mice Point To Genetic Basis For Obsessive Grooming, January 2002
  The Hox genes, a large family of development-controlling genes, might also serve as behavioral regulators in the adult brain could yield important insights into the genetic basis of compulsive behavior in humans.

• Icelandic Group Maps Obesity and Anxiety Genes, February 2002Researchers studying the Icelandic population's medical records said on Tuesday they had mapped two genes linked to obesity and clinical anxiety.

• Provoking Panic: Anxiety, Psychology, and Genetics, June 2000
  Anxiety research has found the uncommon marriage of genetics and psychology in individuals with a certain form of the serotonin transporter gene who tended to express more fear during a psychological test.

• Anxiety Disorders Research at the National Institute of Mental Health
  Reviews studies that examine the genetic and environmental risks for major anxiety disorders, as well as the basis of anxiety disorders in the brain and their effects on the functioning of the brain and other organs.

• Genetics and Biology
  While genetic and biological predispositions are important to explore, for each individual there may be a wide variety of reasons for developing an eating disorder.

• Genetic Clues to Eating Disorders, January 1999
  Doctors studying the causes of the eating disorders anorexia and bulimia believe it has less to do with media images of slim-figured models and more to do with biological and genetic factors.

• Genetics of Eating Disorders, February 2002
  This page attempts to answer some of the more common questions about eating disorders and its genetics.

• New Research Suggests Eating Disorders Have Genetic Roots
  Article discusses the substantial role that genes play in the transmission of both bulimia and anorexia nervosa.

• In Our Genes?, 2000
  Study of twins suggests eating disorders stem from DNA.

• The Genetics of Obesity
  This article reviews what is known about genetics and environmental factors in obesity and what it means for weight control.

Back to Mental Health Project.

These resource lists are being maintained by Debbie Plotnick, working with Paul Grobstein, Department of Biology, and James Martin, School of Social Work and Social Research, at Bryn Mawr College. Suggestions for additions to the list are welcome, as are more general thoughts about how to most effectively make available information, and promote conversation, about issues of mental health. Contact dplotnic@brynmawr.edu - pgrobste@brynmawr.edu - jmartin@brynmawr.edu.


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