Printable Handouts

PDF

Navigable Slide Index

1. Introduction
2. Mental disorders (MDs)
3. Example: schizophrenia
4. Paradox of common, harmful, heritable MDs
5. Outline
6. Mental disorders run in families
7. Classical twin design
8. Twin designs
9. Twin design example: schizophrenia
10. Adoption designs (1)
11. Adoption designs (2)
12. Adoption design example: schizophrenia
13. Genetic effects on mental disorder risk
14. Heritability
15. Two types of heritability
16. Meaning of low heritability
17. Meaning of high heritability
18. The evolutionary paradox of heritable MDs
19. Heritability and prevalence of mental disorders (1)
20. Heritability and prevalence of mental disorders (2)
21. Deleterious mutations
22. Heritability and prevalence of mental disorders (3)
23. Prevalence of MDs vs. other genetic disorders
24. Possible explanations to the paradox
25. Four non-resolutions to the paradox
26. Three better resolutions to the paradox
27. Neutral hypothesis of MD alleles
28. Gene-environment interaction and depression
29. Problems with neutral explanation
30. Balancing selection hypothesis of MD alleles
31. Frequency dependent selection (1)
32. Frequency dependent selection (2)
33. Heterozygote advantage
34. Heterozygotes cannot 'breed true'
35. Byproducts of heterozygous advantage
36. Predictions of heterozygote advantage
37. Problems with balancing selection hypothesis
38. Polygenic mutation-selection hypothesis (1)
39. Polygenic mutation-selection hypothesis (2)
40. Deleterious mutations in the brain
41. The individually effect of these mutations
42. The cumulative effect of these mutations
43. Perception of these underlying dimensions
44. Different distribution of behaviours
45. Mental disorders vs. single gene disorders
46. Importance of mutation-selection in MDs
47. Inbreeding reveals full recessive genetic effects
48. Brain damage increases risk to common MDs
49. MDs are probably highly polygenic
50. Problems with mutation-selection hypothesis
51. Conclusions (1)
52. Conclusions (2)
53. Thanks

Topics Covered

• Ways of assessing heritability in humans: twin and adoption designs
• The evolutionary paradox of common, heritable mental disorders
• Possible resolutions to the paradox: balancing selection, neutral mutation and polygenic mutation-selection balance

Links

Series:

• Evolution and Medicine

Categories:

• Genetics & Epigenetics
• Neuroscience

Therapeutic Areas:

• Neurology

Talk Citation

Keller, M. (2007, October 1). Evolutionary behavioural genetics and mental disorders [Video file]. In The Biomedical & Life Sciences Collection, Henry Stewart Talks. Retrieved April 15, 2025, from https://doi.org/10.69645/XENO9189.
Export Citation (RIS)

Publication History

• Published on October 1, 2007

Financial Disclosures

• Dr. Matthew Keller has not informed HSTalks of any commercial/financial relationship that it is appropriate to disclose.