Sunny Side Up
The article I read on psychology revealed a new gene that has been found to cause depression, proving that sometime's someone's negative outlook on life can be inherited. It has been found that people who have inherited this gene are more prone to depression and more likely to attempt suicide while facing traumatic events that they can't cope with. This gene promotes the activity of a second gene, known as the serotonin transporter. Serotonin is a messenger molecule that carries signals between nerve cells, and recycles serotonin back into the cell that produced it, making it reusable. People with this gene have a reduced amount of serotonin the junctions between nerve cells.The gene was tested in individuals by a dot-probe paradigm test. This test briefly shows photographs that may be positive, negative or neutral. The people being evaluated then have to press a keypad to indicate when the dot has appeared on the screen. When the image was more distracting, the person took longer to respond to the dot. This showed doctors how distracting certain people found particular images. These tests confirmed that a person's attitude towards life is inherited.
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