jj@jolnet.ORPK.IL.US (Joseph Jesson) (01/19/90)
The Manic Hypothesis
Alan J. Robinson
Compuserve 72277, 3523
compuserve.com
Copyright (C) 1990. All rights reserved.
May be freely distributed in whole or part,
but not for direct commercial advantage.
Q. What do the following people have in common--ax murderers,
Hollywood movie stars, immigrants, and psychiatrists?
A. Most of these people carry the gene that causes the disease
manic-depression.
In his recent books Dr. Mark S. Gold advances the thesis that the
true number of different diseases underlying mental disorders is
relatively small, certainly much smaller than that implied by
official works such as DSM-III. I believe that Gold has not
taken this thesis far enough, that indeed there is only ONE
disease that underlies most mental disorders, the disease manic-
depression. (Gold also points out that mental disorders can also
be caused by such things as endocrine disorders and heavy metal
poisoning. These will not be further explored here.)
There is very strong evidence that a single dominant gene
underlies manic-depression. This immediately raises the question
as to why this gene has survived in the general population if it
has such serious consequences. I believe the answer is that in
most people the negative effects are relatively mild, and that
the gene has many positive effects as will be seen below. It may
also be the gene that distinguishes between wild and domesticated
animals.
One of the reasons the time is ripe for advancing this thesis is
the recent upswing in illegal drug usage in the United States and
worldwide. It is beginning to be realized that the effects of
such drugs as alcohol, marijuana, and cocaine are very similar to
the symptoms of manic-depression. In fact, carrying the gene
makes it much more likely that one will engage in drug-taking,
which only makes things much worse, like throwing gasoline on a
fire.
Most authorities now believe that the neurotransmitter dopamine
is the one responsible for the effects of mood-altering drugs,
and is the one involved in several mental disorders, including
manic-depression. How are these effects achieved? I believe
that the fundamental mechanism is a reduction in the
effectiveness of several physical and mental negative feedback
control mechanisms in the body, with the result that the body is
closer to being out of control.
Here we begin to see where the positive effects of the gene come
from. By operating closer to the margin and removing the
inhibitions in the brain, mental performance can be greatly
improved on several dimensions: creativity, intelligence, drive,
performing skills, charisma, and sexual attractiveness (the
famous "it"). Unfortunately, there are also a number of negative
consequences: increased tendencies towards irritability,
explosive anger, violence, depression, anxiety, panic, paranoia,
mania, neurotic and obsessive-compulsive behavior, substance
abuse, sexual deviation, and criminality.
Many of the negative consequences are in reality lower-level,
animal behavior controlled by the more primitive parts of the
brain. This behavior surfaces much more often in manics because
of the reduced coupling between the different levels of the brain
(and corresponding to the lowering of inhibitions brought about
by mood-altering drugs.) The behavior and moods of manics also
vary much more over time because of the reduced control.
While schizophrenia, psychotic behavior, epilepsy, and
homosexuality probably involve other genetic factors, it is
entirely possible that they require the manic gene as well. The
link with homosexuality is quite strong, as will become evident
later on in this paper when the occupational aspects of manic-
depression are discussed.
However, we must not overlook other physical effects of the
gene--these include such disorders as fibrositis, food
sensitivities, environmental sensitivities, allergic asthma,
irritable bowel syndrome, temporo-mandibular joint syndrome,
"yuppie flu", chronic fatigue syndrome, seasonal affective
disorder, candica albicans syndrome, headaches, and chronic pain.
These are the diseases where people spend years going from one
doctor to the next without any definitive diagnosis or cure,
often ending up with the "diagnosis" that it "psychosomatic"--in
other words "imaginary" or "all in the mind". Nothing could be
further from the truth--these are real physical diseases.
When we look at the distribution of the gene and the associated
behavior and personality traits in the general population some
rather extraordinary facts come to light. The incidence of the
gene seems to be concentrated in a number of occupations--mostly
those on the lower right side of John Holland's hexagon of
vocational personalities:
Realistic Investigative
Conventional Artistic
Enterprising Social
Many of these are professional occupations, involving creativity
and often public performance. These are occupations which in
general do not involve direct supervision, and include lawyers
and physicians. Other notable manic occupations include nurses,
airline flight attendants, teachers, writers, poets, actors,
musicians, preachers, politicians, and entrepreneurs.
Now we can begin to see the explanation for the statement in the
Merck Manual that 65% of physicians suffer from a primary
affective disorder, why it is a common observation that lawyers
are often neurotic, why it has been found that entrepreneurs have
the same personality profile as psychopaths, and why there is
such a high rate of substance abuse in creative occupations.
While "opposites attract", this is not true in the case of
manic-depression. Manics usually marry manics, and non-manics
marry non-manics. (The reason for this is that manics find non-
manics have "flat" personalities, while non-manics feel that
manics are too "flaky". Because the manic gene is dominant, it
is quite common for all members of a family to carry the gene for
several generations, and even for hundreds of years.
Incidentally, the women in these families are often misdiagnosed
as merely depressed or anxious. Along the lines of Dr. Gold's
books, every health-care professional should repeat at least once
a day the maxim--"depression and anxiety are symptoms, not
diseases."
The manic dimension does not show up on all personality tests,
including some which were specifically designed to diagnose
mental disorders. Partly this is because the conventional
description of manic-depression in most psychological and
psychiatric textbooks is grossly inadequate. A different reason
is that the effect of the manic gene is often multiplicative
rather than additive, or causes greater variability in behavior.
Most experimental designs in the biological and social sciences
are based on linear additive models for simplicity, thus the
manic gene cannot be detected as a primary factor.
Eysenck's personality model is one which appears to show the
manic dimension--the stable-unstable dimension. While the 16PF
model does not include the manic dimension as either a primary or
secondary factor, the clinical descriptions of many of the
profiles details many normal and abnormal aspects of manic
behavior. (Those who are interested may wish to check the 1323,
1332, and 3223 profiles in Krug's book listed in the
bibliography.)
The other major social group whose members carry the manic gene
is immigrants. In some countries the white population is
composed primarily of immigrants or their recent descendants.
These countries include the United States, and Australia. In
Australia, the first immigrants also happened to be criminals,
another manic group. The rapid economic growth of these
countries is not surprising, as is the high level of substance
abuse.
Why would immigrants carry the manic gene? I believe the reason
is that the manic gene causes a reduction in social bonding. For
example, marriages between manics tend to be less stable, and
most manics value their independence sufficiently highly that
they prefer not to work in jobs where they take orders from
others. Emigration is an act which deliberately destroys social
bonds.
Is lithium the answer?
Yes and no. There are many people with undiagnosed manic-
depression who would benefit from lithium. Those who are taking
antidepressants or tranquilizers would usually be better off on
lithium. However, 20% of manics do not respond to lithium, and
it is not clear that mild cases of manic-depression would benefit
from lithium. The method of action of lithium is not understood,
and it is only effective over a narrow range of doses, which
requires careful monitoring. Often times the diagnosis is only
made after a large amount of physical, mental, and social damage
has been done.
There is still a need for psychotherapy, and helping patients
understand the effects of manic-depression may be the best way of
avoiding substance abuse and other inadequate coping mechanisms.
Bibliography
(This is a short bibliography of popular and general works most
in line with the position taken in this paper. It is not
intended to be a complete reference to the scientific sources.)
Berkow, Robert, "The Merck Manual of Diagnosis and Therapy",
Merck Sharp & Dohme Research Laboratories, Rahway, NJ 1982.
Eysenck, H.J., and Wilson, Glenn, "Know Your Own Personality",
Penguin Books, Harmondsworth, England 1976.
Fieve, Ronald R., "Moodswing", Morrow, New York, NY 1989.
Gold, Mark S., "The Good News About Depression", Villard Books,
New York, NY 1987.
Gold, Mark S., "The Good News About Panic, Anxiety & Phobias",
Villard Books, New York, NY 1989.
Holland, John L., "Making Vocational Choices: A Theory of
Vocational Personalities & Work Environments", Prentice-Hall,
Englewood Cliffs, NJ 1985.
Krug, Samuel E., "Interpreting 16PF Profile Patterns", Institute
for Personality and Ability Testing, Inc., Champaign, IL 1981.
ZZeli@spdcc.COM (Steve Elias) (01/21/90)
In article <2886@jolnet.ORPK.IL.US> jj@jolnet.ORPK.IL.US (Joseph Jesson) writes:
!
! The Manic Hypothesis
! Alan J. Robinson
my hypothesis is that Joseph's posting is a reproduction of an article
from a supermarket checkout line periodical.
!There is very strong evidence that a single dominant gene
!underlies manic-depression.
hardly. the single study of Amish people has been proven to
be quite flawed. the original results were *REVERSED* when all of
data were analyzed.
!worldwide. It is beginning to be realized that the effects of
!such drugs as alcohol, marijuana, and cocaine are very similar to
!the symptoms of manic-depression.
who is beginning to realize this? National Enquirer writers?
compuserve readers?
!While schizophrenia, psychotic behavior, epilepsy, and
!homosexuality probably involve other genetic factors, it is
!entirely possible that they require the manic gene as well.
"entirely possible"? what kind of medicine is this?
i don't like quacks unless there are real ducks attached to them!
!The link with homosexuality is quite strong, as will become evident
!later on in this paper when the occupational aspects of manic-
!depression are discussed.
bigotry.
!Why would immigrants carry the manic gene?
more bigotry.
the author of the paper, Alan Robinson @ compuserve, is clearly a bigot.
jj@jolnet -- do Robinson's slurs appeal to you? why do you post them?
!Bibliography
!
!(This is a short bibliography of popular and general works most
!in line with the position taken in this paper. It is not
!intended to be a complete reference to the scientific sources.)
i'm surprised the bibliography didn't include any KKK hate documents.
don't believe everything you read, jj.
--
/* eli@spdcc.com ; 617-932-5598 */