Oruc et. al

• Oruc aimed to investigate if gene encoding for certain serotonin receptors and transporters could be involved in susceptibility to bipolar disorders.
• The sample consisted of 42 unrelated patients that had bipolar disorder type 1.
• All the participants had come from two Croatian hospitals.
• The age range was 31-70 years.
• 25 females and 17 males.
• 16 participants had a first-degree family member with a mood disorder. (This information was collected from participants and their family members and confirmed through medical records).
• The control group had 40 people in it.
• A matched pairs design was used. Participants in the control condition were matched with patients based on age and gender.
• A DNA was conducted to find variations of the genes responsible for certain serotonin transporters and serotonin receptors.
• Participants who had bipolar were not more likely to have variations in the genes under investigation than those in the control group.
• It was also found that variations in those genes were more present in women than in men.
• Participants were analysed separately based on gender.
• Serotonin is said to be sexually dimorphic.
• Sexually dimorphic, means that males and females have variations.
• It was concluded that women are more at risk of developing bipolar disorder.
• Strengths:

  • The DNA was collected in a controlled lab environment and was analysed using the best and most controlled equipment. This increases the validity of the study and reduces researcher bias.
  • It has real-world applications. It can be used by psychologists to see how genetics and gender can influence an individual's susceptibility to bipolar disorder.
• Weaknesses:

  • The sample size is too small, especially for the finding about female susceptibility to bipolar disorder. It has little generalisability.
  • It is deterministic. It assumes that if you have certain genes you are destined to have bipolar disorder. It fails to take into account how our choices can influence our mental state.