A gene, touted as the "despair" gene, which earlier had no relation with mood disorders, has now been found to have a link with bipolar disorder, depression, and schizophrenic conditions, according to pharmacy scientists at the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB).
The researchers have identified antidepressant and anti-anxiety behaviors in tests of mice lacking the gene.Dr. Elisabeth Barbier and Dr. Jia Bei Wang ran a series of standard behavioral tests on mice without the PKCI/HINT1 gene, concluding that it may have an important role in mood regulation.
Mice in the study, that had what is being called the "despair" gene, eventually gave up trying to avoid apparent danger in tests involving swimming or exposure to light-conditions disliked by mice.
Mice without the gene kept trying to escape from danger, perhaps abnormally.
"The knockout mice [without the gene] displayed behaviors indicative of changes in mood function, such as increased perseverance and reduced anxiety in open spaces," said Wang.
"We don't yet know why the deletion of the gene altered the mood status of the mice," she added.
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The researchers discovered the gene while studying the biological receptors in brain cells that respond to opioid drugs.
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The study has been published in the journal BMC Neuroscience.
Source-ANI
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