| | Category | CBIO | L10 | How does gene expression compare between depression and |
| | schizophrenia in the h |
| | Abstract | Why I am interested in this topic: the potential correlation between |
| | depression and schizophrenia is not a widely studied field, and I hope |
| | to develop on the preliminary findings proposed by this particular study |
| | and dataset. |
| | |
| | The fact that these brains are post-mortem means that no new |
| | environmental implications could be added during the process of study, |
| | making the results more indicative of a promising discovery. |
| | |
| | To obtain my data, I collected a sample of genes and expression rates |
| | from the NCBI GEO database. Then I isolated the genes of interest |
| | pertaining to schizophrenia, depression, and a control group. I ran |
| | basic data analysis on 20,000 samples from 50 brains (t tests, average, |
| | standard deviation, etc.) to help organize the data according to |
| | relevance. Then, using the STRING database and further GEO2R |
| | analysis, I narrowed down 250 significant genes of interest that were |
| | prevalent in both schizophrenic patients and depressed patients but not |
| | the control group. The top 3 most relevant genes were then identified |
| | and their function was noted. |
| | |
| | Accordingly, a genetic correlation between these two anxiety disorders |
| | has been established based on the data from 50 brains. It is important |
| | to note that this experiment took into account purely genetic |
| | correlations, and specific environmental factors were not thoroughly |
| | considered, although all the brains were taken from a European |
| | caucasian descent of people. Such environmental factors could have a |
| | factor in gene expression through the inhibition of the gene or the |
| | absence of it altogether. |
| | |
| | Bibliography | http://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/shared-genes-link-depression- |
| | schizophrenia-and-three-other-mental-illnesses- |
| | 201303015944https://www.nimh.nih.gov/news/science-news/2013/new- |
| | data-reveal-extent-of-genetic-overlap-between-major-mental- |
| | disorders.shtml |