Researchers have identified a site in the DNA of humans and mice that plays a role in controlling anxiety states.
A team of researchers from the University of Aberdeen in Scotland has identified a section of mice’s DNA (an object described as a switch) that activates key genes in parts of the brain that cause anxiety. The level is affected.
During the study, when the researchers removed the part, they observed an increase in anxiety in the animals.
After the research, the team is now optimistic that further studies of this switch will lead to the identification of new drugs to help improve the lives of anxiety patients.
Professor Alisdair McKenzie, from the University, said researchers knew that 95 per cent of the genetic variation associated with disease was found outside protein-coding genes.
This part of the genome (called the non-coding genome) has not yet been adequately studied, he said, partly because of a lack of modern tools.
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