The Genetics of Mental Illness: Point/Counterpoint
Eric Kandel, professor of biochemistry and biophysics at Columbia University, writes in Newsweek that the progress scientists are making in finding the biological markers for mental illnesses has given us new reasons for optimism. John M. Grohol, Psy.D., CEO and founder of PsychCentral, remains skeptical.
A Biology of a Mental Disorder, by Eric Kandel
In the past few years, certain advances in genetics have given us new reasons for optimism. Now that we can look at the whole human genome, there is a logic to it that we could not appreciate when looking at genes in isolation. As a result, there is reason to believe that the next 10 to 20 years will be more fruitful than the past two decades have been.
Chasing the Genetic Ghots of Mental Illness, by John M. Grohol
Eric Kandel, writing for Newsweek, makes the at-least-annual appeal that scientists are making “certain advances in genetics” which give “us new reasons for optimism” in understanding the biological basis for mental illness. As someone who’s been tracking the progress of such genetic advances over the past two decades, I have to say, I remain squarely skeptical.