Behavioural Traits
Behaviour such as depression, cognitive impairment and autism form the extreme lower end of normal distribution within the population. Variation of these traits is dependent upon genes and environment and interactions between them. At present treatments for some of the more debilitating conditions such as cognitive impairment in the elderly and depression are largely ineffective. The aim of behavioural genetics research is to further our knowledge of the predisposing biological pathways in order to allow the development of more efficient treatments.