PSYC 380- RESEARCH PAPER: FINAL PAPER ASSIGNMENT

Research Paper: Final Paper Assignment Instructions

Overview

This Research Paper: Final Paper Assignment is the second and final installment of our Research Paper Assignment series. Using the topic you developed through research earlier in the term you now have an opportunity to synthesize and present the information found in your approved list of articles. In doing so you will realize the value of effective examination of scholarly articles. You will also begin to develop a greater understanding of the value and importance of your topic in the field of Biological Psychology. Finally, you will have an opportunity to briefly examine your topic in light of a biblical worldview perspective. The process we have followed in this series is one you are likely to find useful in future classes.

Instructions

For this Research Paper: Final Paper Assignment, you will:

1. Include the following main sections (level 1 headings) and sub-sections (level 2 headings):
2. Introduction: describe your topic and explain its importance. End the introduction with the purpose statement for your paper.
3. Literature Review
4. The Research Review is based on the 8 (or more) articles identified earlier in the term. As a reminder, this was the selection criteria:
5. The articles must be selected from the JF Library. All 8 must be from peer-reviewed journals published within the past 5 years. At least 6 of the 8 should describe original research. Each article must support your research question and purpose statement.
6. Describe the first point of your review (remember that each article cited must provide information to directly support your purpose statement).
7. Briefly describe the research findings as they relate to your topic.
8. Explain the significance of the research in relation to your topic.
9. Describe strengths and weaknesses (in the methodology)
10. Explain how this research connects to your purpose statement/topic.

Research Paper: Final Paper Assignment

Introduction

According to new studies, the majority of mental disorders are normally thought to be individual parts of particular genetic glitches. The outcome might be a good point to diagnose and treat these situations in a better way. Scientists have acknowledged long ago that many mental diseases like bipolar disorder, autism, schizophrenia, depression, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and so on might have tended to grow in families (Lebowitz, 2019, p.82). Due to overlap in symptoms, these disorders may take time to diagnose at first. The question is, does mental illness derived from genes or not, studies are evidence that genetic factors do increase the risks of mental illness and make those more vulnerable by lowering the brain’s efficiency to deal with trauma and its disruptions. Although no mental disorder has full hundred percent genetic heritability, many other factors like environmental also impact the development of such particular mental illnesses notwithstanding the absence or presence of any genetic elements (Lebowitz, 2019, p.85). Genetic mutations, epigenetic changes, or polymorphisms can deflect the progress of the brain in a path that transfers the typical wiring of the brain. Suchlike, these disorders can derive at any moment of life, for example, ASD at birth or later in another stage of life with summation of environmental factors.

While there are various key genes associated with particular disorders, there are plenty of pleiotropic genes that are associated with all those disorders profound in lacking single genes and genes from the calcium channel. So, these disorders may develop due to abnormal neuro-development that is either from birth or developed later due to social or environmental factors.

Literature review

Here six articles have been selected based on the chosen topic, which is reviewed below.

Article 1: In this research done by Zhao et al. (2019) shows that volumetric transformation of the human brain is genetic and is implicated with various brain-related complex attributes. They carried out genome-wide association studies with over nineteen thousand participants from a UK biobank by using volumetric phenotypes of one hundred and one brains. They had recognized over three hundred variations in the gene that exceeds an important threshold of 4.9 × 10⁻¹⁰, synthesized for examining different phenotypes. This gene-based study commences with one hundred fifty-seven genes along with one hundred twenty-four new genes, and the functional genes that are mapped for analysis are linked with another one hundred and forty-six genes. Although many of them disclosed that genes and genetic variants have been associated with cognitive and mental health attributes previously. In inference, it can be said that this study recognized multiple new associations of genetic variants, gene levels, and their position, and progressed the perception of pleiotropy and co-architecture of genetics among brain contents and other attributes.

Article 2: Sullivan & Geschwind, (2019) have shown in their research that, the genetics of mental disorders have corresponded to one of the most rapidly forwarding places in human genetics. A while ago, there were only a few reproducible outcomes but now there are more than hundreds. In this study, they focused on the outcomes that have manifested the masonry of genetics in mental disorders and the objections of benefiting those outcomes to apprise the perception of pathophysiology. Studies have been evident that mental disorders are polygenic in which genetic loci put up to the risk factor. A few people with a mental disorder have only one indeterministic genetic reason; rather growing a mental disorder is impacted by hundreds of other variants of genes, balanced with a polygenic model. As the study is progressing it unfolded much more about the architectures of genes and its need to elaborate on extra architectures becomes visible. The author elaborates on the meaning of many mental disorders like schizophrenia, PTSD, OCD, ASD, ADHD, and so on with their association with genes.

Article 3: In this article, Schork et al. (2019) grounded evidence that exhibiting diversified mental disorders that share genetic etiology, but this is overlapped by biological substrates which are not well distinguished. A national delegate cohort study was ascertained by clinical psychiatric diagnoses suggested in the Danish national health register. They confirmed the former reports of every particular cross-disorder inherited for leading mental diseases and complete the cross-disorder genome-wide fraternity lesson. They have recognized four different genome-wide meaningful loci surrounding variants forecasted to determine genes revealed in radial glia and interneurons in the enlarging neocortex during the process of midgestational. This period is aided by the division’s cross-disorder inheritance which is enhanced at regulatory chromatin active during foetal neurodevelopment. These outcomes allude to the dysregulation of genes that explicit neurodevelopment by ordinary variants of genes causes in common accountability for various afterward psychiatric consequences.

Article 4: Over decades, mental disorders are defined by clinical observation, and opinions from experts. The current DSM has leaned on the unity of the experts to describe categorical indications depending on bunches of signs and symptoms, and to a few extents, exterior validators, like the lengthy course and its reaction to treatment. In this article, Smoller et al. (2019), have said that despite the lack of an initiated etiology, psychiatry has battled to witness these narrative symptoms, and to explain the limitations among disorders, and between pathologic and normal variation. A large-scale collaborative attempt like the psychiatric genomics consortium has recognized more than hundreds of rare and common variations of genes that give neuropsychiatric disorders an extent to genomic research. In meantime, the researchers have started to acknowledge deep queries on the classification and structure of psychiatric disorders; like to what limit the genetic outcomes can challenge or support clinical nosology; is there any limitation between neurologic and mental illness or not; is there any possibility to imagine a nosology relied on genetically wised up disease mechanism. This research study gives an outline of theoretical exposures and genetic outcomes that pass through the relationships within and limitations between mental disorders and other conditions. The amplifying ramification of psychopathology and its objections in clinical interpretation was highlighted.

Article 5: DNA polymorphisms of humans varies by across geographic locations, along with the most usual accomplished variation that reflects distant lineage dissimilarities. By investigating geographic multitudes of usual genetic variants which impact complex traits in a specimen of four lakh fifty thousand participants from Great Britain. After analyzing thirty-three traits, twenty-one of them have shown effective geographic multitude at the level of genetical after monitoring for lineage, most probably contemplating migration driven by socio-economic status (Abdellaoui et al. 2019, p. 1336). Alleles partnered with educational acquirement have shown the maximum multitude, hence this educational acquirement decreased in those areas where socio-economic conditions are much lower such as coal mining areas. People who left the coal mining areas sustain more educational acquirement by increasing alleles on an average level than people from rest of the Great Britain. The equilibrium of geographic multitude is correlated with the associations of genes among regional and complex traits regarding socio-economic conditions, and cultural and health findings. The result of the study is compatible with the hypothesis of social grouping which leaves a remarkable impression on geographic layouts of usual allele rotation and gene-environment interrelation.

Article 6: An improved feature on biological reasons for mental disorders has been noticed as having the effect of significantly lowering stigma. From this point of view, the current revolution in genetics can be seen as the beginning of hope. Howsoever, certain people have argued that biological illusion can enhance stigma, for instance by anticipating an ill person to seem ‘physically separate’ or ‘defective’ to ‘almost a different species’ (Phelan, 2002, p.430). In this article, the researchers use a multielement approach to stigma as a demonstrator in creating hypotheses about the possible influence of genetic illusions on the stigma of mental disorders.

Biblical Worldview Integration

In accordance with the NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness), one in every five adults experiences a mental disorder in the United States every year. Some of them turn to their own faith in search of assistance and guidance and turn to churches in their time of emotional torment. Despite the outbreak of mental health-related concerns, there will be a stigma linked to mental disorders in many churches. The rising tradition of silence together with false expectations and misleading attitudes mostly cause enduring believers to feel blamed, shamed, and lonely in their experience of mental disorder (lakeunionherald.org, 2021). In addition, despite a rising desire to assist those who endure a mental disorder, the community of the church often reports experiencing ill-equipped to conduct the manifestations of mental disorder and mental health-related preachers, leaders of the church, and society members. A vital factor that contributes to the communities of faith not being available to the needy to strain mental health and mental disorders as an actual issue is the failure to see how the life of Christ is imminently linked to the functions of the heart and mind. However, mental health and the root of mental disorders are constructed all over the book of Genesis, Bible.

Sin created a new idea of the psychic norm in the race of humans. Being unable to rest securely in God’s impeccable love, people began to live a life of fear. Being unable to connect to God, people began to live with chronic doubts, suspicion, anxiety, and so on. Relational unsecured became predictable (lakeunionherald.org, 2021). The usage of psychiatric medicines might be beneficial and must be used as a genre of supporting the process of healing. Hence some people are excessively skeptical of counseling, finding it unfaithful or non-biblical. Jesus Christ came to provide vision to the blind, and suitable counselors to aid people to see themselves as they are.

Conclusion

Research studies have clearly shown that both nurture and nature play significant roles in genetic psychopathology. The interaction between genes and the environment is obvious both in ample varieties of mental disorders and also in a broad limit of experimental methodology that is used to evaluate the relative exploitations of genes and environment in mental disorders. The research on the genetics of mental illnesses must be associated with the research of social science on how genetic outcomes impact the lives of those people who are tested with disorders.

Genes are associated with mental disorders to some extent. The recitation of gene-environment interconnection will further enhance the understanding of the identification, diagnosis, and treatment of mental disorders. As the assemblage of potent treatment aims increases, the opportunities for the growth of prompt intervention planning for more usual but difficult treatment of mental disorders. Whilst studying the gene-environment interconnections is still one of the promising ways to access the goal with efficiency warrants more attention.

References

Abdellaoui, A., Hugh-Jones, D., Yengo, L., Kemper, K. E., Nivard, M. G., Veul, L., … & Visscher, P. M. (2019). Genetic correlates of social stratification in Great Britain. Nature human behavior, 3(12), 1332-1342.

lakeunionherald.org, 2021, The Gospel and Mental health, [Retrieved from: https://www.lakeunionherald.org/archive/articles/the-gospel-and-mental-health] Retrieved on: 30^th September 2022.

Lebowitz, M. S. (2019). The implications of genetic and other biological explanations for thinking about mental disorders. Hastings Center Report, 49, S82-S87.

Phelan, J. C. (2002). Genetic bases of mental illness–a cure for stigma? TRENDS in Neurosciences, 25(8), 430-431.

Schork, A. J., Won, H., Appadurai, V., Nudel, R., Gandal, M., Delaneau, O., … & Werge, T. (2019). A genome-wide association study of shared risk across psychiatric disorders implicates gene regulation during fetal neurodevelopment. Nature Neuroscience, 22(3), 353-361.

Smoller, J. W., Andreassen, O. A., Edenberg, H. J., Faraone, S. V., Glatt, S. J., & Kendler, K. S. (2019). Psychiatric genetics and the structure of psychopathology. Molecular psychiatry, 24(3), 409-420.

Sullivan, P. F., & Geschwind, D. H. (2019). Defining the genetic, genomic, cellular, and diagnostic architectures of psychiatric disorders. Cell, 177(1), 162-183

Zhao, B., Luo, T., Li, T., Li, Y., Zhang, J., Shan, Y., … & Zhu, H. (2019). Genome-wide association analysis of 19,629 individuals identifies variants influencing regional brain volumes and refines their genetic co-architecture with cognitive and mental health traits. Nature Genetics, 51(11), 1637-1644.