Faculty

Unlocking the puzzle of anxiety and depression

Unlocking the puzzle of anxiety and depression

A current Virginia Commonwealth University study hopes to begin unlocking the key to understanding anxiety and depressive syndromes – conditions that are known as internalizing disorders (IDs).

One in four people will suffer from an anxiety disorder in their lifetime, and between 15 and 20 percent of individuals will experience a depressive episode. Even with these high lifetime prevalence rates, very little is currently known regarding the genetic basis of IDs and how it relates to other internalizing risk factors.

John “Jack” ...

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Genetics of addiction: Twin studies

Genetics of addiction: Twin studies

Twin studies offer a critical method to studying questions of nature and nurture in addiction research. Identical twins arise from the same fertilized egg, so they share 100 percent of their genes. If a trait is entirely genetic, identical twins strongly resemble one another in that trait. Think of hair color, eye color, height. Fraternal twins, on the other hand—people born from the same mother at the same time, but formed from separate eggs—share just 50 percent of their genes, ...

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Changing Attitudes about Mental Health – Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Changing Attitudes about Mental Health – Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

At some point in time, up to half the population could be exposed to a traumatic event such as a car accident, a natural disaster, military exposure or an assault. For some it will result in post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, according to Ananda B. Amstadter, Ph.D., assistant professor of psychiatry at the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine and the Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics.

October includes Mental Health Awareness Week – a campaign supported by the National ...

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VCU EXPERT ADVISORY: Mental Health Awareness Week Oct. 3-9

VCU EXPERT ADVISORY: Mental Health Awareness Week Oct. 3-9

Ananda B. Amstadter, Ph.D., assistant professor of psychiatry at the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine and the Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics, is available for comment on the effects of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in children, teens and adults who have been exposed to traumatic events, and in combat veterans.

Amstadter, who recently joined VCU, is an active researcher in the area of traumatic stress – specifically determining genetic predictors of traumatic stress-related conditions and gene-by-environment interaction. Through ...

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