Washington: While there are extensive reasons for the development of anxiety disorders in the human body, a new study has focussed on a different perspective behind occurring of anxiety disorders. New research found that evolutionary changes in the human brain could be a potential cause of the development of anxiety.
Neurochemicals like dopamine and serotonin play significant roles in the emotional as well as cognitive functions of the human brain. Vesicular monoamine transporter 1 (VMAT1) is one of the many genes that are majorly responsible for regulating neuronal signalling and for transporting neurotransmitters.
The team of researchers including Professor Masakado Kawata and PhD candidate Daiki Sato of the Graduate School of Life Sciences at Tohoku University previously found out that VMAT1 is one of the genes that had evolved through the human lineage.
The researchers found out that the ancestral VMAT1 protein exhibited an increased uptake of neurotransmitters as compared to the derived genotype which is shown to be associated with depression and/or anxiety in contemporary human populations.
