As a research scientist for the past 25 years having published only 7 papers in my lifetime, I have come to the conclusion that all this hubbub about emotions and thoughts as it relates to mental health and wellness has lacked grounding in the realm of the real-time physical and science. Is there no DNA, RNA or protein to tell me that I am suffering from bipolar disorder II? As if it is my choice to suffer. My lows may be low, but my highs are stratospheric and that is not good either... I want "balance"! The Tantric concept of flow. The Seven African Powers of the Universal Balance, the cultural asili. Balance, equilibrium, Zen...
My research studies have suggested that "Nature" attempts to maintain balance. Chemistry has balance--or equilibrium. Physics has a balance--or force and energy. All things have a place, a time and a space. Call it the laws of thermodynamics. The irony is that entropy leads to balance from chaos. Well, that is getting into physics for me and I can only discuss maybe a tiny bit about the calculations used to Balance all these numbers, but let me get you to the genetics--functional genomics--molecular biology...
It is thought that inheritance is hard-wired into genes or alleles, which are thought to be a piece of DNA--the genetic material... And in Mendelian genetics each allele is independently assorted and segregated into various haplotypes to form individuals. Hardwired DNA--making RNAs--making proteins. That is the dogma of molecular biology, that is how it works. In a non-Mendelian inheritance and epigentic phenomena, certain attributes occur uniquely to that individual. Some lead to evolution, some do not. I do not understand fully, but it has to do with selection and mutation.
However, with advances in technology, we can examine these odd phenotypes out there and we have found that the "genetic soup" that we are all a part of, which is truly unique. Especially in neuropsychiatric conditions ranging from clinical depression, bipolar disorders, schizophrenia, autism and Alzheimer's. Apparently, just like cancer cells build up too much genetic material and divides multiple times to form a tumor, so does some neurons, unable to divide and the tumor symptoms may appear as thoughts... In cancer, the genetic material is DNA... In neurons the genetic material that drives erratic thought may be RNA (particularly micro RNAs) and possibly proteins or short-peptides... The problem comes back to BALANCE!!! You cannot have too much of a good (or bad) thing or the equilibrium or balance is perturbed...
Erroneous thoughts may occur in specific areas of the brain and neurons. By microarray and real-time PCR analyses, researchers have localized what kinds of genetic structures are affected in clinical depression and bipolar disorders. It is thought that calcium channels, which are proteins that particularly transporters and ionophores. Scientists are saying that the problem is not the stores of calcium that is a different cellular processes. The researchers never stated if there was a mutation, and there could be a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) or dysregulation of the processing of calcium in the brain which inherently affects other solutes, like glucose in the brain...
Why someone with ill-charged Calcium channels would have erroneous thoughts may reflect on the action potentials and/or hyperpolarization of neuronal functions. Calcium generally travels on an electric charge as a capacitor--so it holds the electric charge longer--as I understand it... Let's just say the neurons do not like doing that often. Also, calcium additions onto microRNAs or proteins fundamentally change the molecular charge, structure and isoelectric (pKa) values as well as dipole moments on macromolecules. Generally, you clog up your drains when you have calcium deposits. Apparently calcium lays down the foundation to start that clogging. For pulling out proteins we know are calcium sensitive, we use EGTA in the the laboratory, which is a calcium chelator (chemical claw). But I would NOT ever recommend taking that because it also allows toxins to enter the cell. There is also thapsigargin, a calcium blocker drug, but if you take that, your heart will explode (all this as an euphemism)...
When we talk about the brain though, we are talking about something else. It is NOT the heart or the liver or kidneys or the pancreas. The brain is where we say (or think) where higher thought, revelation and creative conceptualization occurs...
Well now, let's look at our current concepts of emotions and thoughts... Emotions or emotive force as a scientific molecular term has been avoided because they are too complex to comprehend in our DNA/RNA/Protein-disneylandia... But with these recent advances in understanding mental health disorders, it seems that the organic concept of emotions are based on ancient practices. Emotions are good for survival of the species. Without them, humans would not survive. We have to know when we are hot, cold, hungry, wounded, incontinent and we need to taste it, hear it, smell it, touch it, and see it. We process each of those feelings that helps us to learn the value of good or bad and the differences we make about it. For all the senses, it has been shown scientifically that there are receptors that are used to send along the nervous system from the various brain centers to our organs to help us know good from bad--for smell, fragrant vs. putrid; for touch, hot vs cold; for sound, soft vs. loud; for sight, dark vs. light. Our senses as babies are keen because we are learning what to associate good vs. bad as learning. Midwifes have known this for years. However, we are just beginning to unlock the molecular genetic mechanisms associated with each concept of the senses...
The one sense that older babies have difficulty with (and possibly parents) is anger. Anger is a survival tactic for many species on Earth and is used to provide an amount short lived energy or power to either enact the fight or flight response. Physiologists and biobehavioral stress scientists have long known that when angry there is an increase in blood pressure, an immediate release of neuropsychiatric hormones and chemicals so that the organism takes an action without thinking. Automatically, we do something, no time to think about it. Fear plays a role in anger, but IMHO, fear is not a sole source of anger. Anger can cause the process of elimination by rapid reductionist conclusions, often unwarranted or unreal. Anger is triggered by words, sounds, smells, tastes and sights that evoke a negative feeling or connotation in memory. Anger is the innate source of emotional triggers so that it can be used as a survival tactic in the fight or flight response. However, humans are no longer being hunted by "bears", but we still have the genetic mechanisms in place to become angry, however without much social, behavioral, psychological, physiological control in American society.
We think that G-protein coupled receptors system, including GAPs, cGMP, Rgs proteins are involved in at least increasing blood pressure, sending the neuropsychiatric hormones to various parts of the body, including that of the adrenals and kidneys, to the skeletal muscles... That anaerobic conditions increase the potentiation of the neuropsychiatric system--literally turning off the high brain thought processes for the autonomic nervous system to act. Emotion gives thrust and lift to Anger. What goes wrong is when the anger response is unmerited--such as a moral judgment or code or frustration with a higher level thought process or that the sensory emotions are disconnected--such as we misinterpret hot and cold substances...
Thought has always been interpreted as an "ingram" that travels around in the brain. But it appears that the molecular nature of thought is possibly microRNAs... There is DNA in neurons, but rarely is there full newly transcribed RNAs that are made in neurons from old studies using nuclear run-on assays. It was well known that neurons has micro RNAs--or microsatellite genetic markers--that scientists thought was junk. However, it has been determined that this pool is essential for healthy neuronal function. When the brain needs more proteins to go to the synapse, it gets them from the microRNA processing reserves and cores. I think there are about hundreds of thousands microRNAs ready for each neuron. There are about 1 billion neurons in the human brain. But remember, we have to operate in BALANCE, there is an equilibrium drawn here... The microRNA population varies from one neuron to the next, but there is a prevalence for one species of microRNA to be processed versus another. It is NOT an all or nothing deal... The right microRNA is made at the right time.
This periodic shift, related to circadian rhythms, may have to do with the innate system of emotions and survival skills and the ability to learn civility, social conditioning, and etiquette incurred on all humans living in cities. We need these skills such as speech communication, localizing food sources, proper disposal of waste, etc. to function in a social living groups. All humans have been socially conditioned. We cannot survive if we are not taught by our predecessors. We learn by example, such as choosing not to go outside naked when it is 20 below, etc because it is a survival tactic. This comment goes to say some of our emotions are learned behaviors based on our societal values, the environment, or nurture...
And that is what is known about the molecular genetics of emotions and thoughts from a 9 month old baby... Adults have ranges of emotions and thoughts due to their life experiences that shape them. Without the experience of "tying your own shoes", how will you every know that is what you do?
But this is about the molecular genetics of emotions and thoughts, I digress... In mental health conditions, we go back to those innate emotions out of fear, which leads to anger and gets us into a vicious cycle. With powerful intentions, we can process our mental illnesses with a higher level of thought training to avoid that cyclical thinking. It can be a powerful ally in our arsenal in fighting against our genetic inheritance. Just because an environmental stressor exacerbated your mental health system, does not mean you cannot overcome it, you may just need extra assistance to help you overcome--and that is okay. What you choose can be "forcing your thoughts" to dictate your emotions, but you must understand physically, our brain was not wired that way... Only you know all your responses to various "stimuli"... Sometimes, you need a "boost" to overcome your wiring. And if you do, then work from that vantage point. You are not better or less because you need that boost. There is no value to the boost. You wouldn't say to a cancer or heart patient, don't get treatment for your condition, only pray to God to heal you? Why would you say that to yourself if you suffer from a mental health condition, inherently in your brain that may be genetic?
If treatment was found to remove all the negative thought memories you ever had, would you take it? What would you become? What would be the side effects? If a treatment was found to decrease the physical pain associated with a mental trauma in a negative thought memory (microRNA) to get you out of your bed and become productive to your level of happiness, would you take it? What would you become? What would be the side effects?
IMHO, resolving your mental health care in that manner can be your approach to mental health when you speak to your provider...
Dr. G-
Ariafya LLC
http://www.ariafya.com
Mental Zeal for Spirit & Well-Being
Within Unity There Is Strength