Monitor on Psychology - February 2012 - (Page 36)

scIence Watch beginnings Autism, schizophrenia and other disorders may have roots in life’s earliest stages. B Y K I RSTEN W EI R The of mental illness W here does mental illness begin? New research suggests the seeds of psychological problems are planted well before birth. Schizophrenia, for example, is often thought of as a genetic disorder. But environmental factors can also boost risk – sometimes considerably. Alan Brown, MD, MPH, a professor of psychiatry and epidemiology at Columbia University and the New York State Psychiatric Institute, has found that a variety of early-life events significantly increase schizophrenia risk (Progress in Neurobiology, 2011). The risk is three times greater in people whose mothers had the flu during pregnancy, for example, while maternal iron deficiency during pregnancy increases the offspring’s risk of the disease fourfold. “These aren’t small effects,” Brown says. Schizophrenia isn’t the only mental illness linked to prenatal events. Using data from a Dutch birth cohort, Brown found that people whose mothers were undernourished while pregnant had a significantly increased risk of major affective disorders, such as mania and depression, severe enough to require hospitalization (American Journal of Psychiatry, 2000). Other researchers have shown that adverse events during pregnancy, including infections, toxin exposure and maternal stress, can boost the fetus’s future risk of problems such as depression, anxiety, autism, mood disorders and attentiondeficit hyperactivity disorder. Events in early childhood are also linked to persistent mental health problems. Childhood maltreatment, for example, increases the odds of developing depression or post-traumatic stress disorder in adulthood. M o n i t o r o n p s y c h o l o g y • F e b ru a ry 2 0 1 2 36

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Monitor on Psychology - February 2012

Monitor on Psychology - February 2012
Letters
President’s column
Contents
From the CEO
APA files two briefs in support of same-sex couples
New registry seeks to understand addiction recovery through ‘crowdsourcing’
APA launches a database of tests and measures
Watch for new member benefit: “APA Access”
Apply now for APA’s Advanced Training Institutes
PsycTHERAPY, APA’s new database, brings therapy demos to life
In Brief
APA scientists help guide tobacco regulation
A-mazing research
‘A machine for jumping to conclusions’
Judicial Notebook
Random Sample
Righting the imbalance
The beginnings of mental illness
Science Directions
Improving disorder classification, worldwide
Protesting proposed changes to the DSM
Interventions for at-risk students
Harnessing the wisdom of the ages
Anti-bullying efforts ramp up
Hostile hallways
R U friends 4 real?
Support for teachers
Speaking of Education
Record keeping for practitioners
Going green
At the intersection of law and psychology
Division Spotlight
Grants help solve society’s problems
Personalities

Monitor on Psychology - February 2012

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