WHETHER you bounce back from life’s nasty shocks or sink into deep despair depends largely on which version you have of a gene involved in serotonin regulation. People with one form seem to be more vulnerable to depression, according to a study published last week.
If the mechanism of the gene’s influence on mental illness can be understood, it might be possible to develop treatments that make people less vulnerable to depression after stressful events. More immediately, the discovery raises the prospect of genetic tests to identify people at high risk of becoming severely depressed.
A key feature of the…
