Depression and anxiety are a major problem in today’s modern human society. Although these troubles can be triggered by environmental factors, an individual’s genetics can play a large role in their susceptibility to these illnesses. To better understand the causes of depression and anxiety, it is important to map the genes underlying quantitative trait loci know to play a role in complex phenotypes such as emotionality (EMO). Despite recent breakthroughs in examining and mapping the quantitative trait loci that control these complex traits, the process is far from perfect. It is these genetic factors that have recently become of great interest to geneticists, in the hope of understanding how humans cope with depression and anxiety.
However, in order to understand human emotionality, scientists must first understand emotionality in smaller animals that are more convenient to experiment on, mice, for example. Many traits in mice and humans, including emotionality, exhibit high levels of quantitative trait loci concordance and by examining the quantitative trait loci that control emotionality in mice, it may be possible to identify the genes in human beings that contribute to emotionality.
Written by s4122887
References
Mackay, Trudy. (2004) Complementing complexity, Nature Genetics, Vol 36, Number 11, 1145-7
Willis-Owen, S.A.G. & Flint, J. (2007), Identifying the genetic determinants of emotionality in humans: insights from rodents. Neuroscience and Behavioural Reviews, 31, 115-124.
