UBC Mental Health Awareness Club

Researchers discovered that the peptide tied to the neurotransmitter hypocretin increased in people when they were happy and decreased when they were sad. This is related to increased alertness and mood in humans. The groundbreaking discovery gives direction for future research on the potential treatment of depression and similar disorders affecting mood. Hypocretin deficiency can distinguish the underlying cause of depression from other causes.

Another measurement was done of the release of the peptide related to melanin concentrating hormone (MCH). The release of this peptide increases during sleep and is limited when awake. This explains the relationship between sleepiness of those suffering from narcolepsy and depression. Those with narcolepsy had fewer hypocretin nerve cells in the brain compared to a control group.

The strong association between depression and narcolepsy explains the link of hypocretin in the manifestation of mood disorders.

Researchers collected hyocretin and MCH data from the brains of eight people being treated for intractable epilepsy. They were given brain implantation of intracranial depth electrodes in order to identify the area of the brain where seizures originate. Researchers measured the release of hypocretin and MCH using a radioimmunoassay procedure and had patients record their moods on a questionnaire. The procedure was to allow patients to watch television, engage in social interactions, and experience transitions between sleep and wakefulness.It was discovered that hypocretin levels are not linked to arousal in general, but had its effect during positive emotions, anger, social interaction and awakening. MCH levels were highest during sleep and minimal during social interaction.

Hypocretin elevates mood and alertness in humans. This suggests that the abnormalities of the pattern of activation between MCH and hypocretin have a significant contribution to mood disorders.

Source: http://psychcentral.com/news/2013/03/09/researchers-find-link-between-peptide-and-happiness/52387.html

Behaviourists from ETH Zurich have demonstrated that the interplay between infection during pregnancy and stress in puberty may play a key in the development of schizophrenia in mouse models.

The prevalence of schizophrenia is around one percent, and this disorder is usually not diagnosed until adulthood. Scientists have long suspected a role of adverse environmental factors in schizophrenia development. Particularly, prenatal infections including influenza, as well as psychological distress have been seen as potential risk factors.

However, researchers at ETH Zurich have now made a breakthrough discovery, finding a clear link between these two environmental factors and the development of schizophrenia-relevant brain changes.

One negative influence is maternal viral infection during the first half of the pregnancy. If the same child is later exposed to major stress during puberty, their probability of developing schizophrenia markedly increases.

The infection during pregnancy is thought to lay a foundation to exacerbate the stress experienced during puberty. The mother’s infection activates central nervous system immune cells, called microglia, which can alter brain development. Once the infection clears, microglia lie dormant but develop “memory”, awakening upon experiencing chronic stress.

The ETH Zurich researchers emphasize that their results should be no reason for pregnant women to panic, as the probability of schizophrenia is only high in a specific time window, and other factors, such as genetics, play a role. As well, unlike genes, environmental influences may be changed. For example, response and coping mechanisms for stress can be altered.

Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/03/130301122512.htm

The largest genetic study of mental illness to date has found a common genetic risk in autism, ADHD, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Previously thought to be quite distinct from one another, this study shows a bridging of the boundaries between these conditions.

After genetic screening of 61,000 people across 19 countries (some with one of the five disorders, and some without), researchers found four regions of the genetic code where variation was linked to all five disorders.

These results are quite sensical as there is symptom overlap as well as comorbidity between these five conditions. Often, people with schizophrenia exhibit the same social withdrawal symptoms seen in autism, and it is common for people to be affected by more than one mental disorder.

This finding has major implications on learning how to diagnose mental illness as concisely as physical illnesses can be diagnosed. Instead of relying solely on symptoms, doctors could also perform genetic screenings to narrow down and diagnose a specific mental disorder, increasing our understanding of the biological occurrences underlying these conditions.

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/28/psychiatric-disorders-genetics-mental-disorder-autism-adhd_n_2781772.html