wildstar@nmtvax.UUCP (10/16/85)
To whom it may concern:
I have been wondering about something. It could be said that I am
thinking about the future, since I am not married , and am way too young
to be a parent just yet ( am 23 yrs now ).
Most of my family on the father's side has a predominant number of
cases of inherited mental illness. My father is a senior gynecologist,
started college at 16, but is also a manic depressive. He has done
untold harm to the family from his deeds. Since I am now away from the
family, the less said about him, the better.
As for myself, I skipped two grades ( it was the wisest choice at
the time ), started college at the same age, but I had kept myself under
extreme rigid control since I was afraid that I would wind up just like
him. It took many years of psychologists and therapy to loosen me up to
the point were I wasn't afraid to live a little, and not have to worry that
if I relaxed discipline for an instant that I would become demonic. ( Doctor:
have you ever been very bad? Answer: No ... see how effective my system is?
:-) )
The thing that I am wondering about, is :
Is manic depression inheritable along the male line, and is it linked with
very high intelligence? It seems that the intelligence is dominant
( has been for at least three generations to my knowledge ), so if I
get married and have children, should I be on the lookout for "gifted"
traits in the children, and if the children are undergoing accelerated
developement, should I be on the lookout for "irregular" behaivior?
Other questions:
If any children I have are gifted, should I allow priveledges and rights
by calendar age or by the age they exhibit themselves as?
It is my feeling that the "blackboard jungle" would corrupt any child.
I don't want my children, should I have any, become John Q. Public,
easily manipulated by peers, press, and experimental teaching styles.
Would it be advisable to have a child tutored at home by professionals
( ie. engineers, scientists, linguists ) and have him/her take the GRE
early?
I guess these are silly questions that only exhibit to all that perhaps
I should wait until my mid-forties until I get married.
Andrew Finecharli@cylixd.UUCP (Charli Phillips) (10/21/85)
Andrew Fine writes: >Is manic depression inheritable along the male line, and is it linked with >very high intelligence? It seems that the intelligence is dominant >( has been for at least three generations to my knowledge ), so if I >get married and have children, should I be on the lookout for "gifted" >traits in the children, and if the children are undergoing accelerated >developement, should I be on the lookout for "irregular" behaivior? > Don't worry about silly questions. (I had a teacher years ago who told her classes that the only silly questions are the ones you don't ask. If you ask and learn something, the question was useful, not silly.) The inheritance of both mental illness and intelligence is *extremely* complex. They are *not* simple dominant-recessive traits, like some forms of baldness, albinism, and dwarfism. (Forms of mental illness caused by specific metabolic problems may be simple dominant- recessive traits, but these are rarely problems in this country, since the underlying metabolic problems can be identified and treated.) Most mental illness appears to be multi-factorial with respect to the genetic component, and is of course affected greatly by environment (diet, upbringing, and so on). Problems of genetic penetrance and "threshold" effects in environment further complicate the question. The inheritance of intelligence appears to be equally as complex. I know of no research that indicates that intelligence and mental illness are linked. My qualifications for answering this question are limited, based on a psychology minor in college and a couple of classes in genetics, including one in human medical genetics. My knowledge is, of course, dated, since I've not done further research or study in the fields. I would recommend that you consult a genetic counselor to answer your questions about heredity (your family physician should be able to refer you to one), and to see an expert in the education of gifted children at whatever time you have children and note that they seem to be gifted. charli