As has been known for quite some time now, if you find an identical twin with schizophrenia, there is a chance greater than 50% that so too will the other twin suffer from this mental disorder.
Aha! Having the same genes doesn’t guarantee developing schizophrenia. But boy do those genes give a “big push” in that direction.
In previous posts I have mentioned this interim, simplified model of how I view the nature-nurture relationship: While genes determine the range of possibility for development, environmental factors influence where in that range an individual develops to. For some attributes and perhaps individuals, the range is small. Genes have a huge say. (Consider height.) For others it is quite large. (Maybe tastes in music.)
Which environmental influences, one might ask, will push one predisposed twin into developing schizophrenia, while the other escapes the disturbing outcome?
Actually. One is asking. But not just one. During a recent press conference of the 23rd Congress of the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology, this news was reported:
Exciting findings in other areas of psychiatry have motivated researchers to turn their attention to better understanding the complex ways in which genetic factors interact with non-genetic factors to produce psychosis. Biological vulnerability factors with a genetic background interact with complex physical, psychological and environmental vulnerability factors. Conceptualised in a model, gene-environment interaction proposes that genes influencing risk for schizophrenia may not do so directly (the dominant model until recently), but indirectly by making individuals more sensitive to the effects of causal environmental risk factors. [source, emphasis added]
Another way to conceptualize the complex relationship is via a stress-vulnerability model. While genes provide the barrel of your vulnerability, environmental stressors, will pull the trigger. So to speak.
But for now, how we speak about this very complex topic is somewhat premature. There is still a lot of research to be done. It is possible that any broad conceptualization, however improved over previous ones, might mislead as much as it enlightens.
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Tags: critical thinking, mental health
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