For the first time a team of forensics has shown that people who commit suicide have previously suffered a series of chemical changes in the genes that affect the functioning of neurons.
Specifically, it is a process known as methylation , which under normal circumstances keeps genes that cells do not need turned off. Analyzing the brains of suicide bombers, Michael O. Poulter has found a much higher than average rate of methylation that "turns off" a key gene for regulating brain activity . As Professor Poulter explains in the latest issue of the journal Biological Psychiatry , this chemical change happens in the long term, is difficult to reverse, and often accompanies chronic depression.
? It is surprising that our genome can be so malleable in the brain ?, says the researcher, who hopes that this finding will open a new path in the treatment of neurological disorders.
