Mental illness has been a feature of human society as long as there have been humans and society. It’s endemic. And one of the things we’ve been wondering for thousands and thousands of years is: What causes it?

Well, per ScienceDaily, scientists may have finally made a major breakthrough in at least partially answering that question:

"Our current findings indicate that GRIN2A is the first known gene that, on its own, can cause a mental illness. This distinguishes it from the polygenic causes of such disorders that have been assumed to date," says Professor Johannes Lemke, lead author of the study and Director of the Institute of Human Genetics at the University of Leipzig Medical Center.

That’s GRIN2A, which Wikipedia says is a "large" "protein" that is specific to primates, e.g., human beings.

Here’s a picture of that sucker:

CC BY-SA 3.0/Emw

In order to isolate GRIN2A as a source of mental illness, researchers "conducted a statistical analysis of data from 121 individuals who carried a genetic change in the GRIN2A gene:"

‘We were able to show that certain variants of this gene are associated not only with schizophrenia but also with other mental illnesses. What is striking is that, in the context of a GRIN2A alteration, these disorders already appear in childhood or adolescence – in contrast to the more typical manifestation in adulthood,’ says Professor Lemke.

The GRIN2A gene "helps regulate how active nerve cells are by influencing their electrical signaling," but variants in the gene can reduce the effectiveness of that signaling, which could be "medically important." Notably, patients showed improvement after taking a dietary supplement that helps with receptivity.

The study’s findings could provide a path to "successfully targeting deficient [signaling] in individuals with mental disorders."

Hopeful stuff. Fingers crossed.

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