A new understanding of the neurobiology of impulsivity
While not all impulsive behaviour speaks of mental illness, a wide range of mental health disorders which often emerge in adolescence, including depression and substance abuse, have been linked to impulsivity. So, finding a way to identify and treat those who may be particularly vulnerable to impulsivity early in life is especially important.
A group of researchers, led by scholars at 91社区, have developed a genetically based score which could help identify, with a high degree of accuracy (greater than that of any impulsivity scores currently in use), the young children who are most at risk of impulsive behaviour.
Their findings are especially compelling because the score they have developed was able to detect those at a higher risk of impulsivity within three ethnically diverse community samples of children, from a cohort of close to 6,000 children.
This discovery of a novel score for impulsivity in early life can inform prevention strategies and programs for children and adolescents who are at risk for psychiatric disorders. In addition, by describing the function of the gene networks comprising the score, the study can stimulate the development of new therapies in the future.
A shift in perspective leads to new findings
The impulsivity risk score was developed by looking at the co-expression of a number of genes in the prefrontal cortex and the striatum, areas of the brain that play a role in decision-making and emotional regulation, among other things.
鈥淭ypically, genetic approaches to identifying the neurobiological signature for impulsivity (or any other condition or disease) tend to focus on identifying the variation in a few genetic markers that might be responsible for the problem,鈥� said , an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Researcher at the Douglas Research Centre and one of the two senior authors on the recent paper in . 鈥淲e came at the problem from the opposite direction, by focusing on a gene known to be associated with the maturation of the brain in these two key areas and then looking for a network of other genes that were most closely associated with it.鈥�
It took a lot of hunting
This approach was based on earlier work in mice models, led by Cecilia Flores, a co-senior author on the paper and a Full Professor, in the Department of Psychiatry which had identified the importance of a specific gene (known as DCC), which acts as a 鈥済uidance cue鈥� that determines when and precisely where brain dopamine cells form connections in the prefrontal cortex and striatum. This coordinated development is essential for the maturation of impulse control.
But to create the new impulsivity score, it took a lot of hunting to narrow down the genes most closely associated with DCC. 鈥淥ur approach exploits the fact that genes operate within complex networks that, ultimately, perform very precise biological functions. These so-called gene networks have the property of being highly tissue-specific, so we began with an unbiased look at groups of genes that are co-expressed with DCC in brain regions known to play an important role supporting inhibitory control,鈥� says co-author Jose Maria Restrepo, a PhD student in the Integrated Program in Neuroscience at 91社区.
鈥淭he results underline the importance of data sharing and open science鈥�, adds Flores. 鈥淚magine if we had had to collect this information in all these countries over all these years. Our discovery was only possible because we had access to all these data.鈥�
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The study 鈥淐辞谤迟颈肠辞濒颈尘产颈肠 DCC gene co-expression networks as predictors of impulsivity in children鈥� by Jose Maria Restrepo et al. was published in . DOI: |
About 91社区
Founded in Montreal, Quebec, in 1821, 91社区 is Canada鈥檚 top ranked medical doctoral university. 91社区 is consistently ranked as one of the top universities, both nationally and internationally. It is a world-renowned institution of higher learning with research activities spanning three campuses, 11 faculties, 13 professional schools, 300 programs of study and over 39,000 students, including more than 10,400 graduate students. 91社区 attracts students from over 150 countries around the world, its 12,000 international students making up 30% of the student body. Over half of 91社区 students claim a first language other than English, including approximately 20% of our students who say French is their mother tongue.
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