Archive · 9 Dec 2025
One Gene Linked to Mental Illness
Scientists have found that a single gene, called GRIN2A, might be responsible for some mental illnesses.
This gene makes a protein that helps brain cells talk to each other and is important for learning, memory, and brain development.
A man named Johannes Lemke led the study and said that this gene, all by itself, can cause mental health problems like early-onset schizophrenia.
This is different from what scientists used to think, which was that many genes and other factors together cause mental illness.
A new study suggests that the GRIN2A gene may cause mental illnesses like early-onset schizophrenia.
The GRIN2A gene produces the GluN2A protein, which is crucial for neuron communication and brain functions.
Johannes Lemke, the lead author, states that GRIN2A is the first known gene that can cause mental illness on its own.
Traditionally, mental illnesses were thought to be caused by multiple genes and environmental factors.
The GRIN2A gene is involved in learning, memory, brain development, and language.
- Who
- Johannes Lemke, lead author and Director of the Institute of Human Genetics at the University of Leipzig Medical Center
- What
- A study linking the GRIN2A gene to mental illness
- When
- Not specified
- Where
- University of Leipzig Medical Center
- Why
- To understand the genetic basis of mental illness
- Gene
- GRIN2A
- Protein
- GluN2A
- Lead Author
- Johannes Lemke
- Institution
- University of Leipzig Medical Center
- Mental Illness
- Early-onset schizophrenia