Saturday, 2 August 2014

Schizophrenia and genetics: birds of a feather or opposites attract?

There are strong genetic ties to schizophrenia, higher than some cancers, but what are the effects involved? Specifically is there mutual attraction involved in the selection of parents of schizophrenic offspring?

Taking Meehl's schizotaxia idea - a genetic pre state which all schizophrenic phenotypes (pathological and non pathological) come from as the start the question is whether the presence of the genotype causes attraction in others of the same genotype or lack of attraction by alternative/non-schizotaxia genotypes - and this is an effect on genetic correlates in offspring?

I'm really uneducated when it comes to genetics and totally clueless when it comes to to relationships. If the adage 'opposites attract is true' then this might point to an immutable or semi immutable gene/s whereas I believe it is other factors which strongly affect the creation of the schizophrenia phenotype. The non pathological 'schizotypy' end of the schizo-spectrum is little studied but is also possibly a phenotype of schizotaxia.

Creative people, altruistic people and promiscuous people sharing the schizotaxia genotype might select similar partners (or be less attractive to non schizotaxia genotypes) and this effect dominates the genetic link data. Perhaps?

- sent from a tablet

No comments:

Post a Comment

Blog Archive

About Me

We It comes in part from an appreciation that no one can truly sign their own work. Everything is many influences coming together to the one moment where a work exists. The other is a begrudging acceptance that my work was never my own. There is another consciousness or non-corporeal entity that helps and harms me in everything I do. I am not I because of this force or entity. I am "we"