‘Anxiety in women related to genes’

These women also had similar electroencephelograms (EEG) — recordings of brain electrical activity as unique as an individual’s fingerprints — that showed characteristics of anxious temperament, further strengthening the association of this shared genetic factor with anxiety. The study appears in the current issue of the journal Psychiatric Genetics.

‘‘These results shed more light on the genetic origins of anxiety, which can sometimes be a warning sign for developing alcoholism,’’ said NIAAA Director T.K. Li, MD. ‘‘Such multidimensional studies that integrate neurogenetics, behavioural science, and the study of the brain are vital to increasing our fundamental knowledge of the genes related to complex psychiatric disorders.’’

Research physician Mary-Anne Enoch, MD, and colleagues in the Laboratory of Neurogenetics in NIAAA’s Division of Intramural Clinical and Biological Research in Maryland, conducted the study. The team investigated a gene that encodes Catechol-O-Methyltranferase, or COMT, a major enzyme responsible for the metabolism of certain neurotransmitters including norepinephrine, which affects anxiety.