Gene Linked With Mental Illness Shapes Brain Region

Researchers have discovered a gene associated with mental illness that enlarges the region of the brain called the Pulvinar.

"The 5HTTLPR genetic variant of the serotonin transporter (SERT), which consists of a long (SERT-l) and short (SERT-s) allele, has emerged as a major factor influencing emotional behavior and brain anatomy."[1]

The Pulvinar (as shown in the picture) appears to be larger and carries more nerve cells in individuals who experience mental illness than those who do not.

"This might indicate that the brain regions that receive input from the Pulvinar are more strongly influenced in such individuals, and the Pulvinar communicates with brain regions involved in negative emotional issues," said Dr. Dwight German, one of the authors of the research study.

The more I learn about the mind and biology, the more things makes sense. Don't you think? Hopefully, such research will help to take the stigma out of mental illness.

The study is available at Biological Psychiatry - a journal of psychiatric neuroscience and therapeutics.

Genetic research rocks.


Footnotes
[1] Young, K.A., Holcomb, L., Bonkale, W.L., Hicks, P.B., Yazdani, U. & German, D.C. (2006). 5HTTLPR polymorphism and enlargement of the pulvinar: Unlocking the backdoor to the limbic system. Biological Psychiatry. In press.

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Map of School Violence

This is a map of school violence in the United States between the year 1996-2005. I saw this first from my blogpal, Renee

Below are just a few examples of where this has happened in the world in the last ten years...

1996 - Dunblane, Scotland: Sixteen children and a teacher are killed by a shooter who then takes his own life.

1997 – Seven Israeli school girls were shot to death by a Jordanian soldier while on a field trip in Bakura.

1998 – A bombing in Algiers on a crowded street packed with students returning home from school killed one person and wounded several others.

1999 – An individual with extremist views opened fire in a childcare area of a Jewish community center in Los Angeles and killed several children.

1999- Two Columbine High School students went on a killing rampage, murdering 12 fellow students and a teacher, as well as wounding 24 others, before committing suicide.

2002 – Two students were murdered and fifteen wounded by a gunman believed to be from an ethnic minority Karen rebel group in an attack on a school bus in Thailand .

2002 - Fourteen teachers, two students, one policeman were shot and killed at a school in Erfurt, Germany. The gunman later committed suicide.

2004 - A group of heavily armed rebel extremists stormed into School No. 1 in Beslan, Russia. The siege ended with a series of explosions and gunfire that killed over 350 people - half of them children.

2006- Montreal Canada. A hail of gunfire occurred at Dawson College which killed one student, seriously injuring19 others. The gunman committed suicide .

2006 - In one-room Amish schoolhouse, a heavily armed truck driver shooting all ten girls, and them himself. Five young girls lost their lives, and five cling to life.



:::Sighs:::

What can be done to minimize such violence?



Resources
Beslan
Key To Safer Schools
School Violence Resource Center

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