Mental Health Insights

Image A: colourful abstract shapes Week 7 - What is known about epigenetic effects of the rearing environment on mental health? Extensive epidemiological studies suggest that adult disease risk is associated with adverse environmental conditions early in development. In the mid-to-late 2000s, the mechanisms behind these relationships were unclear, but it was hypothesised that epigenetic dysregulation was involved. By 2013, DNA methylation emerged as a potential mechanism for

Week 6 - Which models can explain the role of gene-environment interaction in mental health? Gene-environment interactions (GxE) are situations where genetic influences on behaviour depend on the environment. The impact of a genotype on disorder risk is different in people with different environmental exposure. These types of interactions are hypothesised by the diathesis-stress framework, which implies that genetic vulnerability interacts with life stressors to trigger ment

Image A: an adult man with a group of children standing on rocks on a river stream Week 5 - What are possible implications of gene-environment correlation (rGE) for prevention and treatment of mental health problems? There are three types of genotype-environment correlation (rGE), which are passive, evocative, and active. The existence of rGE raises two possible implications - one being the relationship between psychosocial risk factors and psychiatric outcomes is confounded

Image A: colourful corals Week 4 - What are polygenic (risk) scores and how can they be used in mental health research? A polygenic risk score (PRS) is a number that explains your disease risk based on your genes. The scores are calculated using many single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) at the same time. These numbers are based on variation in multiple genetic loci and their associated weights. Polygenic risk scores have become the standard for quantifying polygenic risk i

Image A: woman surrounded by purple balloons. Week 3 - What is the role of DNA variations in individual differences in mental health? APOE 4 is one of the most well-established genetic risk factors; carriers of the APOE 4 allele have an increased risk of developing Alzheimer's disease, dementia, and cardiovascular disease. Previous studies have found direct associations between APOE 4 and impairment/ decline of cognitive function, e.g., executive functioning, verbal memory/

Image A: eldery man and child celebrating winning a marathon, people running in the background. Week 2 - How have twin studies contributed to our understanding of aetiology of mental health? Plomin et al. (2016) describe the Top 10 replicated findings from behavioural genetics - a cause for celebration in pychology! Big and counterintuitive findings start to change the psychological perspective about the origins of individual differences in behaviour. This blog focuses on fi

Image A: eldery woman, adult, and child playing table tennis together. Week 1 - Which family factors can contribute to intergenerational transmission of mental health? It is commonly known that offspring of individuals with mental illness are at a greater risk of developing mental illness themselves. For context, the patterns of intergenerational transmission of mental health problems are unclear, so let's dive into the present study. Hancock et al. (2013) examined mental he