Good news for those feeling down: scientists find genetic trigger for depression
The causes and symptoms of depression vary widely among individuals, accounting for the fact that 40 per cent of cases are unresponsive to drug treatment. Current antidepressant medications act by increasing the availability of the neurotransmitter serotonin in the brain, and take weeks or months to produce a therapeutic response.
Ronald Duman, a professor of psychiatry and pharmacology at Yale University, performed genome scans on 39 deceased individuals, 21 of whom suffered from depression. The findings showed that a particular gene called MKP-1 was expressed at over double the usual level in the brain tissues of depressed individuals compared to healthy controls.
Further research on mice strengthens Duman’s hypothesis that MKP-1 plays a crucial role in the onset of depression. When the gene is inactive, the subjects exhibit increased resilience to stress. Targeting MKP-1 in depression treatment will open the way to more selective, novel classes of pharmacotherapeutic agents with reduced adverse effects.— Albert Razvan Gheorghita
Source: Science Daily
Family and culture affect whether intelligence leads to education
A recent study published in Psychological Science has compared identical and fraternal twins in Minnesota and Sweden, in order to explore how genetic and environmental factors involved in education differ in countries with different educational systems.
Using intelligence test scores and education records for thousands of pairs of twins, the authors concluded that more intelligent people had more education in both Sweden and Minnesota, although intelligence and educational attainment were more closely related in Sweden.
Wendy Johnson, of the University of Edinburgh and the University of Minnesota, speculates that this could be because of the different educational systems in the two countries. In other words, a Minnesotan family that values education and that has the financial means can pay to get a less intelligent child into college, while a Swedish family doesn’t have that option. That said, every Swede with high grades and test scores can get a free education and those with low scores do not have the option of being able to pay their way into a good university.— Kim Tran
Source: Association for Psychological Science
Celebrity journalism may inspire healthy behaviour among consumers
Want to get fit? Try consuming a healthy dose of celebrity journalism.
Researchers at the University of Missouri School of Journalism have found that reading celebrity health news stories can trigger positive behavioural changes in some readers, and may be an underappreciated way to communicate health messages to a mass audience.
Previous studies indicate that after a person reads a health news story, they seek out interpersonal advice from a friend or family member before deciding to change their health behaviours. However, this step can be circumvented when a celebrity is involved in the story. The MU researchers found that celebrities acted as potential surrogates for this interpersonal contact, making it less likely for consumers of celebrity media to check with a friend or family before changing their health behaviours. This response was further strengthened when the reader had personal experience with the health issue being covered.— Kelly Robertson-Reinhart
Source: University of Missouri School of Journalism
