Schizophrenia, ‘Evolution of the Intellect’
By Mark Henderson
February 10, 2007 12:00am
Article from: The Australian
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ONE of the most devastating types of mental illness could be a by-product of the evolution of human beings’ intelligence, a new genetic study has suggested.
Scientists have discovered that a common version of a particular gene appears both to enhance a key thinking circuit in the brain, and to be linked to a raised risk of schizophrenia.
The findings, from a study by the US National Institute of Mental Health, provide fresh evidence for the theory that schizophrenia is the price some people pay for our species’ advanced intellectual abilities.
The research hints that some of the genetic factors that underpin the human brain’s cognitive capacities can also go wrong, leaving a sizeable minority prone to mental illness.
In the study, the NIMH team examined a common variant of a gene called DARPP-32. Three-quarters of the subjects studied inherited at least one copy of it.
This common version of the gene appears to make the brain’s most sophisticated thinking region more efficient, the researchers found.