Influence of Genetics on Bipolar Disorder

    This article discusses a study on individuals with bipolar disorder and individuals without bipolar disorder from various racial groups to determine the role genetics has on this disorder. To preface, bipolar disorder is a when a person experiences extreme mood shifts and episodes of depression. The results showed that about 300 gene locations and 6 different genes are linked to bipolar disorder. This study also lead researchers to notice the differences in the organization of genes of the people who have the disorder. The genes that are linked to bipolar disorder are associated with an increased risk of schizophrenia and depression. A lot is still unknown about this specific disorder but this research could potentially lead to more helpful or long term treatment opportunities.

Figure 1: Fictional art of a person's brain who has bipolar disorder

   As mentioned above, genes that are linked to bipolar disorder can also be related to the risk of other mental disorders. It is very interesting to me that people can only have one of the disorders and not experience all of them if the genes overlap. I find this research to be extremely beneficial to help people battling with mental illnesses. The cause of bipolar disorder is partially due to specific genes and their different architectures but also environmental factors do influence a person being diagnosed with bipolar disorder. There is not one specific gene or even cause that makes someone have bipolar disorder making the treatment difficult. Also, bipolar disorder varies within people. Hopefully with time and research, studies are able to understand why people have different experiences with the disorder. I hope that this research is able to help people find the correct solution to this disorder for them. This study will help the production and creation of more personalized treatments to help individuals living with bipolar disorder. 

Reference: https://www.nimh.nih.gov/news/science-updates/2025/study-illuminates-the-genetic-architecture-of-bipolar-disorder 

Additional link explaining bipolar disorder: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/bipolar-disorder/symptoms-causes/syc-20355955

Brooke McMonagle

3/17/26

Heritability of BPD and its Influence on Creativity

 It has been known previously that creativity and mental illness have the tendency to link to one another, but the article specifically analyses the links between BPD (borderline personality disorder) and creativity. Because genetics factors are connected to mental illness, including personality disorders, heritability is considered in the study. 

Bipolar personality disorder is a mental health condition classified as intense, unstable behaviors that become most prevalent in early adulthood. The condition is centered around intense feelings of anger and impulsiveness, as well as having intense fears of abandonment. Various forms of therapy and medication may be used to treat the condition. 

The results of the study are described as follows: creativity and borderline personality disorder were each influenced by genetic factors (heritability = 0.45 for BPD and 0.67 for creativity) and that the traits are genetically correlated rG = 0.17. These results indicate strong genetic influences, and environmental influences’ contribute less to the creative demonstration associated with borderline personality disorder. 

Article:Overlapping genetic influences between creativity and borderline personality symptoms in a large Dutch sample | Scientific Reports (nature.com)

Other Article: Borderline personality disorder - Symptoms and causes - Mayo Clinic

Blaming Our Genes: The Heritability of Our Behaviors

This article helps to uncover the question of whether some traits people have are really beyond their control or something they could have picked up throughout their years of development.  When it comes to behavior, genetics plays a significant role, as shown by studies on various traits and disorders. Twin studies and family genetic studies help us understand the heritability of behaviors, indicating how much of a trait is influenced by genetics versus the environment, basically nurture vs. nature. Traits like intelligence and addictive behavior (food addiction, alcohol/drug addictions, sex addiction) both have substantial genetic components, with estimates of heritability ranging from 50% to over 90%, indicating that traits like these are more likely than not to get passed down across generations.  Disorders like schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and depression also have strong genetic bases, with heritability estimates ranging from 70% to 85%. Similarly, conditions like familial advanced sleep phase syndrome (FASPS), obsessive-compulsive disorder, and autism have clear genetic components contributing to their development. Understanding the genetic basis of these behaviors and disorders can help destigmatize mental illness, improve diagnosis and treatment, and even lead to the development of new therapies.  This article was very interesting to me, but it also freaked me out in a way because of the way that disorders like depression and bipolar disorder can be passed down from generation to generation. I know someone who suffers from depression personally, so I know that the lows are very low and the high can be at times too high. I also know that this person really dislikes the fact that they have this disorder and would be incredibly upset at the fact that will more likely than not pass the trait down. I can't even begin to imagine how it might feel like it's all your fault when your child experiences similar struggles that you face.

Sources

1. https://thereader.mitpress.mit.edu/blaming-our-genes-the-heritability-of-behavior/

2. https://americanaddictioncenters.org/alcohol/hereditary-genetic

Scientists take next big step in understanding genetics of schizophrenia

                                                  

Researchers, led by the UNC School of Medicine, have made impressive findings in unraveling the genetic underpinnings of schizophrenia. They initially identified around 5,000 genetic variants associated with schizophrenia through genome-wide association studies (GWAS). To see which of these variants has a direct causal impact on the development of the condition, the team employed a specialized technique known as Massively Parallel Reporter Assay (MPRA). By introducing these variants into human brain cells in a controlled environment, they identified 439 genetic variations that have biological effects, capable of altering gene expression linked to schizophrenia. This study has discovered new genetic variations that could be involved in schizophrenia's genetic basis, helping us understand its complexity better.

Schizophrenia is known for its complicated interplay of genetic and environmental factors, and significant progress has been made in identifying potentially causal variants, but the condition remains versatile. The research emphasizes the need for further investigation into the genetic structure that contributes to an individual's liability for schizophrenia. In the end, what we've learned might help create better treatments or help get close to that step. This is very important because there aren't many good treatments available for this serious mental disorder.

Links - 

Scientists take next big step in understanding genetics of schizophrenia | ScienceDaily 

NIMH » Piecing Together the Genetic Puzzle of Schizophrenia (nih.gov)

We Found a Genetic Link Between Routine Blood Test Results and Mental Health Disorders

       A recent study discussed on The Conversation speaks about how biochemical substances involved in various mental health disorders affect our brain functions, and many of those biomarkers are ordered in blood tests. This study establishes a correlation between different biomarkers and mental health disorders. However, it was not able to establish whether or not these biomarkers cause mental health disorders or if mental health disorders cause the changes in the biomarkers. Further research is required in order to establish such a causal relationship, but this could lead to improved treatment and prevention options for people suffering from mental health disorders. The discussed paper can be found in the journal Science.

Human Evolutionary Changes Behind Mental Disorders

The Discover: Sciencefor the Curious journal asks the question of, “Could human evolutionary changes be behind mental disorders?" For a long period of time, scientists have supposed that the human family tree still obtains many similarities. One connection they made is about that seventy percent of human adults have impacted wisdom teeth and the evolutionary decrease of the size of the jaw in the human lineage and modern changes in diet. To further investigate, the geneticist, David Kingsley at Stanford University and his collogues experimented on the gene for a protein called CACNA1C. This gene helps to send the flow of calcium in and out of cells. In order to investigate, the researchers used the non-coding components of the gene. They later compared the typical human genome with the diverse range of human genomes form the 1000 genomes project, they noticed a large amount of variation in only one specific region of the gene. They now suggest that the variation in this region could possibly be either decreasing or increasing the actions of the CACNA1C. This might cause the risk for mental disorders. Kingsley believes that this may help to better match a patient’s DNA risk factors with the drugs that are more likely to be beneficial in the future.

Schizophrenia Development

Since mental illness is a big topic lately, I thought this would be appropriate. This is a type of disorder that is found to be developed in the womb, and although this site was from a few years ago, there is new evidence of the same kind of information. They have new experiments and new ways to find their information, definitely worth a read. 

In a Novel Theory of Mental Disorders, Parents’ Genes Are in Competition

2 Scientists have developed a ground-breaking theory of brain development that can help a deeper understanding about mental disorders like schizophrenia and autism, deriving in part that other events other than genetic mutation can alter gene behavior.

 They propose that it is a battle between the father's sperm and the mom's egg when in effect can cause brain development in one of two ways. If the father's sperm is more effective, it showcases more development along the autistic spectrum, like fascination with objects, patterns, mechanical systems, and the outlay of social development. If the mother's egg is more prominent, it expresses more development in the psychotic spectrum, like hypersensitivity to their own and other people's emotions. And this, in theory, induces a high probability for the child to become diagnoses with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder.

In a general sense, autism and schizophrenia represent complete opposite ends of the spectrum that covers almost all psychological brain disorders. But this theory promotes a new angle of perceiving mental disorders, an angle that in some ways "represent the first environmental influence on the expression of genes."

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/11/health/research/11brain.html