Wondering why your kids are anxious? It may be because of you

A new study claims that anxiety and depression could be inherited. Meaning if you are anxious, chances are, your children may end up developing anxiety and depression too.

A study involving 600 young rhesus monkeys a the University of Wisconsin-Madison showed that an over-active brain circuit involving three brain areas passed from generation to generation could be the cause for developing anxiety and depression.

The results found that the over-activity in these three brain areas is directly linked to the risk of developing such disorders later in life. The reason for such over-activity is the inheritance of brain alterations, according to senior author Ned Kalin. These children show extreme anxiety and anxious temperament quite early on in life.

This behavior of being temperamentally anxious and passing anxiety-related genes to the next generation is common to humans and monkeys. The study found 35 percent of anxiety-related tendencies to be explained by family history.

Anxiety to a certain extent helps an individual recognize and avoid danger, providing an evolutionary advantage. But over-activity of these circuits can later result in anxiety and depression related disorders that could be a problem.

The study also explained that it was the function of the brain structure and not the size that handled the genetic transfer of such behavior. Kalin noted that this further opens up understanding the molecular alterations that give rise to these brain function related diseases. Also, this also gives scientists better targets for treatment of these mental disorders.

The study was published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

You may also like to read:

• 6 symptoms of anxiety you should know
• Beat stress and relieve anxiety with shashankasana or hare pose
• What are anxiety symptoms and how you can deal with them

With inputs from IANS

Image source: Getty Images

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