Running head: NATURE VS.

NURTURE IN MENTAL ILLNESS

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Nature vs. Nurture in Mental Illnesses

Ellie G. McFadden

DuBois Area High School

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Abstract

Mental illnesses are being successfully diagnosed now more than ever, due to the increasing

level of research conducted on the topic. This paper examines the root causes of mental illness

by comparing genetics to environment, and seeing how they interact with one another. An

overview of mental illness as a whole is offered. Different chemicals in the brain that contribute

to psychological help are discussed, along with how and when they become present in the brain.

Genetic factors and environmental factors are heavily compared and contrasted in order to see

how they work together as well as alone in the brain.

Keywords: mental illness, genetics, psychology, neuroplasticity

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Nature vs. Nurture in Mental Illnesses

Background of Mental Illnesses

The American Psychiatric Association defines mental illness as diagnosable changes in

ones thinking and behavior that directly affect a person’s day-to-day life. Because the brain is

what controls a person’s thoughts, actions, and views of life, illnesses in the brain can be just as

serious, if not more, than physical illnesses. Before going into the causes of mental illness, one

must first understand the chemistry of the brain and how mental illness can affect its chemistry.

According to the National Institution of Health, Neurons in the brain communicate with

other parts of the body by sending electrical signals through gaps called synapses. The signals

that neurons release are called neurotransmitters, and different types of neurotransmitters

transmit different types of signals, and a lack of these signals can cause mental illnesses.. One

example of neurotransmitter is serotonin, which is involved in thinking, remembering, and

controlling emotions. A lack of serotonin is responsible for depression and other mental illnesses

(See Appendix A)(National Institution of Health, 2007).

Mental health issues are probably one of the last things parents want to think about for

their child. However, a study of over 50,000 children found that roughly 1 in 6 children ages 2-8

had at least one mental, behavioral, or developmental disorders(MBDDs) (Cree, Bitsko, and

Robinson 2018). At this early in a child’s life, many people wonder: are these disorders more of

a result of genetics or trauma?

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Nature

All types of mental illnesses are at risk of being passed down through generations.

Illnesses such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder are statistically much more likely to be

hereditary, but depression and anxiety disorders can also be hereditary (Uher, Zwicker, 2017).

Twin studies are extremely helpful when studying genetics, because identical twins are

the only individual beings who share identical DNA. These studies have shown that twins who

share 100% of nuclear DNA are at risk for the same mental illnesses. In addition, roughly ⅔ of

genetic associations have overlaps in schizophrenia, major depressive disorder, and bipolar

disorder (Uher, Zwicker, 2017). So, with the same exact genetics, a person can be highly at risk

for one of many disorders.

Genetic factors include epigenetics and genetic polymorphisms. Epigenetics influences

how a person responds to environmental stimuli and, as a result, can influence whether or not

that person develops a mental illness. Epigenetics does not stay the same over time; a gene could

be “off” for a majority of a person’s life, and a small could change could cause it to “turn on”.

For a mental illness to develop, the correct combination of environmental factors and epigenetic

control must be present. Genetic polymorphisms are mutations in DNA us as individual beings.

A polymorphism by itself would not cause a psychiatric illness to develop. However, a mental

disorder may occur when one or more particular polymorphisms are combined with certain

environmental factors(Blakemore, 2019).

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Nurture

During childhood, the brain develops at such a rate that it heavily influences brain

function for the rest of a person’s life. While genetics are certainly able to determine whether an

individual is mentally ill, a child’s atmosphere plays a much larger role. Emotional, social, and

nutritional deficits, as well as exposure to abuse, crime, and bullying are major causes of these

mental developments.

Exposure to trauma at a young age can disrupt the brain’s regulary processing of

emotions. The LHPA axis regulates the body’s response to stress, and in children exposed to

trauma, the LHPA system can become dysregulated. In further studies of the LHPA axis in

children, lower cortisol levels have been reported in people with a history of childhood

maltreatment; low cortisol is also associated with anxiety, stress, and depression(Gunnar, 2020).

From birth to age five, a child’s brain is considered to be in rapid brain development. In

this phase, neuroplasticity is high, meaning that a child’s brain is very susceptible to being

“rewired” to make new connections(Spenrath, Clarke, & Kutcher, 2011). Certain neural

pathways in the brain can be exponentially strengthened, and this happens by associating new

things to one another. If an event leaves a negative impact on a child during this time, certain

neurotransmitters that are responsible for serotonin production could become damaged, or the

brain could begin to associate positive things with a negative outcome (Spenrath, Clarke, &

Kutcher, 2011). According to McLaughlin and Sheridan (2016), early life stress and adversity,

namely related to risk, threat, and deprivation, can be thought of as a cause of stimuli that impair

development. One core example of this early stress would be poverty. A 2018 study conducted

by Cree, Bitsko, and Robinson found that out of over 50,000 children, around 13.9% of children

whose families made over 400% of the federal poverty line were diagnosed with an MBDD,
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while around 22.1% of children whose families were below the federal poverty line were

diagnosed with an MBDD. Studies like this have raised awareness for MBDDs in low-income

communities.

Other highly-proven environmental factors in mental illnesses include living in urban

areas, maltreatment, bullying, and even factors regarding a person’s birth(See Appendix B)

(Uher, Zwicker, 2017).

Gene-Environment Interaction

The research above show how separately, genetics and environment can both be an

extremely important factor in the development of psychological disorders. Despite this, it has

been proven that no disorder is caused solely from environment or genetics alone. There may be

multiple genetic variants at play, or multiple environmental factors, but the two work

hand-in-hand. This is referred to as gene-environment interaction, or GxE. Above, both

epigenetic modifications and neuroplasticity in children were mentioned separately- but if the

two are involved together, they can increase the likelihood of a mental illness being present.

Low activity variants of monoamine oxidase A (MAO‐A) gene (see figure C1) and

childhood maltreatment has been proven repeatedly to lead to antisocial behavior along with

depression in some cases in males (Uher, Zwicker, 2017). An interaction between BDNF gene

variants and traumatic life events have been proven to lead to depression (see figure C2). There

have been 152 polymorphisms in 42 different genes that, when interacting with cannabis use, can

lead to psychosis (Uher, Zwicker, 2017). Polymorphisms of the seratonin transporter gene have

been proven to cause higher rates of depression when combined with any stressful life

experience (Kolb & Gibb, 2011).

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Conclusion

There is no isolating nature and nurture when it comes to mental illnesses. Studying this

topic in-depth is still fairly new, so there is still a lot that needs to be studied. For now, all that is

known is that each and every individual’s brain is vastly different on a molecular level, so there

is no definite way to determine mental illness with complete accuracy. Many people wonder how

to prevent mental disorders in children, however there is no straightforward way to do that. The

complex interaction between nature and nurture makes it impossible to completely prevent

mental disorders, however as the understanding increases, the field is finding increasingly better

ways to treat them as they occer.

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References

Blakemore, S. J. (2019). Adolescence and Mental Health. The Lancet, 393(10185), 2030-2031.

Cree, R. A., Bitsko R.H., & Robinson L.R. (2018). Health care, family, and community factors

associated with mental, behavioral, and developmental disorders and poverty among

children aged 2–8 years—United states, 2016. MMWR. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly

Report, 67. https://doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm6750a1

Gunnar, M. (2020). Early adversity, stress, and neurobehavioral development. Development and

Psychopathology, 32(5), 1555-1562. doi:10.1017/S0954579420001649

Kolb, B., & Gibb, R. (2011). Brain plasticity and behaviour in the developing brain. Journal of

the Canadian Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 20(4), 265–276

McLaughlin, K. A., & Sheridan, M. A. (2016). Beyond cumulative risk: A dimensional approach

to childhood adversity. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 25, 239–245.

National Institution of Health (2007). Information about mental illness and the brain. National

Institutes of Health (US). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK20369/

Spenrath, M. A., Clarke, M. E., & Kutcher, S. (2011). The science of brain and biological

development: implications for mental health research, practice, and policy. Journal of the

Canadian Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 20(4), 298–304.

Uher, R., & Zwicker, A. (2017). Etiology in psychiatry: Embracing the reality of

poly-gene-environmental causation of mental illness. World Psychiatry, 16(2), 121–129.

https://doi.org/10.1002/wps.20436
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Appendices

Appendix A

Figure A1: a non-depressed brain compared to a depressed brain. People with depression have

lower amounts of serotonin pass through their neurons.

Appendix B

Figure B1: environmental factors and how they can contribute to the development of mental

disorders
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Appendix C

Figure C1: Monoamine Oxidase A

Figure C2: Human Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor Gene structure