Decades of twin studies have yielded evidence of the heritability of many different traits. What we mean by this is the proportion of variation in a trait that can be explained by genetic differences between individuals. Research has moved towards identifying specific genetic variants associated with these traits through Genome-Wide…
When we perceive threat, our bodies initiate a fight-or-flight response (Cannon, 1932). This physiological reaction – involving symptoms such as quickened heart rate – prepares us for action. Although unpleasant, it is likely that this adaptive response enabled our ancestors to run from or fight predators, and therefore to survive…
Depression is the fifth leading cause of the global burden of disease and first leading mental health cause (Vos et al., 2017). Whilst everyone experiences sadness and perhaps even depression at times in their lives, perhaps following loss of a loved one, those with clinical depression experience symptoms that go…
A PhD is the ideal route for anyone hoping to pursue an academic career, who is hard-working, self-motivated and passionate about research. It is usually a three-year, full-time, postgraduate degree in which you work on a specific topic to produce an original piece of research. At the end, you get…
Mention that you are researching ‘genetics and mental health’ and you might notice a sense of unease in your audience. We usually tack on additional information, which ranges from, “investigating how we can predict response to psychological therapies using genetic information, and of course we incorporate environmental factors too”, to “but…
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