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The Missing Gene: Psychiatry, Heredity, and the Fruitless Search for Genes
What causes psychiatric disorders to appear? Are they primarily the result of people s environments, or of their genes? Increasingly, we are told that research has confirmed the importance of genetic influences on psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, autism, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
This timely, challenging book provides a much-needed critical appraisal of the evidence cited in support of genetic theories of psychiatric disorders, which hold that these disorders are caused by an inherited genetic predisposition in combination with environmental agents or events. In fact, the field of psychiatric genetics is approaching the crisis stage due to the continuing failure, despite years of concerted worldwide efforts, to identify genes presumed to underlie most mental disorders.
The belief that such genes exist is based on studies of families, twins, and adoptees. However, the author shows that these studies provide little if any scientifically acceptable evidence in support of genetics. In fact, researchers initial "discoveries" are rarely replicated. As this becomes more understood, and as fruitless gene finding efforts continue to pile up, we may well be headed towards a paradigm shift in psychiatry away from genetic and biological explanations of mental disorders, and towards a greater understanding of how family, social, and political environments contribute to human psychological distress. Indeed, Kenneth Kendler, a leading twin researcher and psychiatric geneticist for over two decades, wrote in a 2005 edition of The American Journal of Psychiatry that the "strong, clear, and direct causal relationship implied by the concept of a gene for ... does not exist for psychiatric disorders. Although we may wish it to be true, we do not have and are not likely to ever discover genes for psychiatric illness."
The author devotes individual chapters to ADHD, autism, and bipolar disorder. Looking specifically at autism, despite the near-unanimous opinion that it has an important genetic component, the evidence cited in support of this position is stunningly weak. It consists mainly of family studies, which cannot disentangle the potential influences of genes and environment, and four small methodologically flawed twin studies whose results can be explained by non-genetic factors. Not surprisingly, then, years of efforts to find "autism genes" have come up empty.
This is an important book because theories based on genetic research are having a profound impact on both scientific and public thinking, as well as on social policy decisions. In addition, genetic theories influence the types of clinical treatments received by people diagnosed with psychiatric disorders. Yet, as the author demonstrates, these theories do not stand up to critical examination.
This timely, challenging book provides a much-needed critical appraisal of the evidence cited in support of genetic theories of psychiatric disorders, which hold that these disorders are caused by an inherited genetic predisposition in combination with environmental agents or events. In fact, the field of psychiatric genetics is approaching the crisis stage due to the continuing failure, despite years of concerted worldwide efforts, to identify genes presumed to underlie most mental disorders.
The belief that such genes exist is based on studies of families, twins, and adoptees. However, the author shows that these studies provide little if any scientifically acceptable evidence in support of genetics. In fact, researchers initial "discoveries" are rarely replicated. As this becomes more understood, and as fruitless gene finding efforts continue to pile up, we may well be headed towards a paradigm shift in psychiatry away from genetic and biological explanations of mental disorders, and towards a greater understanding of how family, social, and political environments contribute to human psychological distress. Indeed, Kenneth Kendler, a leading twin researcher and psychiatric geneticist for over two decades, wrote in a 2005 edition of The American Journal of Psychiatry that the "strong, clear, and direct causal relationship implied by the concept of a gene for ... does not exist for psychiatric disorders. Although we may wish it to be true, we do not have and are not likely to ever discover genes for psychiatric illness."
The author devotes individual chapters to ADHD, autism, and bipolar disorder. Looking specifically at autism, despite the near-unanimous opinion that it has an important genetic component, the evidence cited in support of this position is stunningly weak. It consists mainly of family studies, which cannot disentangle the potential influences of genes and environment, and four small methodologically flawed twin studies whose results can be explained by non-genetic factors. Not surprisingly, then, years of efforts to find "autism genes" have come up empty.
This is an important book because theories based on genetic research are having a profound impact on both scientific and public thinking, as well as on social policy decisions. In addition, genetic theories influence the types of clinical treatments received by people diagnosed with psychiatric disorders. Yet, as the author demonstrates, these theories do not stand up to critical examination.
- GenresBiology
332 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2005
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July 10, 2021
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Promissory Genes
Some of us, most of us, take what science tells us very seriously. Our view of ourselves, and of others, is heavily informed by what we believe is the scientific position. If it turns out that we are little more than our genes, that we are biochemical robots, then we must face up to the truth, dispiriting as it may be, and deal with it as best we can.
Concentrating on the field of psychiatric genetics, Jay Joseph argues that the genetic determinism so taken for granted in modern times is not based on sound science.
This is a serious and controversial claim. Many people become angry if you even so much as suggest that a psychiatric disorder may not be genetic. Strong arguments are therefore needed. With the knowledge that he is militating against a well-entrenched orthodoxy, Joseph has written this extremely detailed, rigorously argued book, dedicating many of its chapters to lengthy critical assessments of original research papers.
While some may be put off by the rather pedantic level of argumentation, it is, to my mind, absolutely necessary; and if you are willing to put the time in, occasionally exhilarating.
It is too easy for genetically oriented researchers to blithely dismiss serious criticism as the work of know-nothing armchair critics with ideological agendas.
Joseph is no armchair critic. Although he is a clinical psychologist and not a research scientist, his doctoral thesis was a critical examination of the schizophrenia twin studies literature, and the majority of his publications since then have been dedicated to this very specific, and very important, area.
As the book makes clear, he is often more familiar with the foundational research of psychiatric genetics than the researchers themselves.
Joseph's scholarship is outstanding; his level of familiarity with the science and history of psychiatric genetics is immense. Primary and secondary sources are quoted often and at length, everything is thoroughly sourced, the arguments proceed clearly and logically, and his tone is measured, professional.
In cases of obvious academic fraud and gross incompetence, Joseph is careful not to ascribe conscious intent, opining more generally at the 'unfortunate' state of affairs.
Only once does he explicitly get angry with a few modern psychiatric geneticists, and it's to call them 'poor historians indeed' in a footnote. Seeing as it was in the context of their attempted absolution of the leaders of the Munich School (an early psychiatric genetic organisation) from complicity in the Nazi eugenic and extermination programs, when widely available documentary evidence suggests very strongly otherwise, one can understand Joseph's academic outburst. That the founder of the school is claimed by a certain psychiatric geneticist to have been disgusted by Hitler's misuse of his research, even though it is widely known that he was not only a fervent support of the Nazi government but a formal legislator of some of its most draconian eugenics policies, is enough to make one pause and consider the lengths that people will go to defend their world-view, and just how many readers they are willing to lead astray.
Although the historical analyses in this book are fascinating, and even disturbing, the large majority of its contents are devoted to scientific analysis. This is where Joseph is at his most brilliant.
His critique of the Equal Environment Assumption in all its varied and bizarre reformulations is a supreme example of logical analysis. Here Joseph cuts to the quick of psychiatric genetics, because if the EEA is invalid, as Joseph cogently argues, then the vast majority of twin studies done to date are scientifically useless.
When one considers their many other, more particular, invalidating flaws (biased statistical manipulation, the post hoc redefinitions of the disorder under study to achieve statistical significance, among many others) the case for the genetic transmission of psychiatric disorders is about as scientifically compelling as phrenology.
There is much more to this book than a one thousand word review can do justice to. By the book's conclusion, I was convinced that the well-publicised claims about the genetic determination of psychiatric disorders are based more on politics, rhetoric and second-hand information than sound science. It took a book of this level of complexity and detail to convince me.
Vague humanistic platitudes, while comforting for a time, are hard to sustain against a countervailing science. It is liberating to know that, in the case of psychiatric and behavioural genetics, the 'countervailing science' is largely built on air, and that the evidence, in fact, supports a more open view, where human beings are genuine individuals, not shambling automata, whose psychological difficulties are not the fault of their broken genes, but caused by well-known, and repairable, psychological and environmental factors.
A quotation from J.R. Lucas, former president of the British Society for the Philosophy of Science. His writings on human identity and value are among the best I've ever read, and show that to be scientific does not imply belief in the brutal pessimism of reductionist science, of which psychiatric and behavioural genetics are complementary parts. I am confident that Joseph would agree with the following passage.
'Each [of us] is a definite individual, ultimately responsible for what he decides to do, while being also an indeterminate shimmering of different personalities, revealed and developed in different personal relationships. Each is unique, of infinite complexity, transcending all stereotypes and neat classification, while needing also to be a safe pair of hands, who can be relied on to do his bit when required.'
Syracuse Gate
---
blurb
What causes psychiatric disorders to appear? Are they primarily the result of people’s environments, or of their genes? Increasingly, we are told that research has confirmed the importance of genetic influences on psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, autism, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
This timely, challenging book provides a much-needed critical appraisal of the evidence cited in support of genetic theories of psychiatric disorders, which hold that these disorders are caused by an inherited genetic predisposition in combination with environmental agents or events.
In fact, the field of psychiatric genetics is approaching the crisis stage due to the continuing failure, despite years of concerted worldwide efforts, to identify genes presumed to underlie most mental disorders.
The belief that such genes exist is based on studies of families, twins, and adoptees. However, the author shows that these studies provide little if any scientifically acceptable evidence in support of genetics. Moreover it is not true, as is frequently reported in the popular media, that genes for the major psychiatric disorders have already been discovered.
In fact, researchers’ initial "discoveries" are rarely replicated.
As this becomes more understood, and as fruitless gene finding efforts continue to pile up, we may well be headed towards a paradigm shift in psychiatry away from genetic and biological explanations of mental disorders, and towards a greater understanding of how family, social, and political environments contribute to human psychological distress.
Indeed, Kenneth Kendler, a leading twin researcher and psychiatric geneticist for over two decades, wrote in a 2005 edition of The American Journal of Psychiatry that the "strong, clear, and direct causal relationship implied by the concept of 'a gene for …....' does not exist for psychiatric disorders. Although we may wish it to be true, we do not have and are not likely to ever discover 'genes for' psychiatric illness."
And Peter Propping, recipient of the 2004 Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Society of Psychiatric Genetics, wrote in 2005 as follows: "Whereas genetically complex traits are being successfully pinned down to the molecular level in other fields of medicine, psychiatric genetics still awaits a major breakthrough."
The author devotes individual chapters to ADHD, autism, and bipolar disorder, where he argues that, contrary to frequent claims that they are "heavily genetically influenced," there exists little evidence supporting a genetic foundation for these diagnoses. Looking specifically at autism, despite the near-unanimous opinion that it has an important genetic component, the evidence cited in support of this position is stunningly weak.
It consists mainly of family studies, which cannot disentangle the potential influences of genes and environment, and four small methodologically flawed twin studies whose results can be explained by non-genetic factors. Not surprisingly, then, years of efforts to find "autism genes" have come up empty.
The Missing Gene is an important book because theories based on genetic research are having a profound impact on both scientific and public thinking, as well as on social policy decisions. In addition, genetic theories influence the types of clinical treatments received by people diagnosed with psychiatric disorders.
Yet, as the author demonstrates, these theories do not stand up to critical examination.
Like the author’s previous work, "The Gene Illusion: Genetic Research in Psychiatry and Psychology Under the Microscope," this will be a controversial book, and is sure to spark intense discussion among people interested in the causes of psychiatric disorders.
As in The Gene Illusion, the author challenges many positions viewed by mainstream psychiatry and psychology as established facts.
In the process, he shows that textbooks and other authoritative sources sometimes provide misleading or inaccurate accounts of research put forward as supporting the genetic position.
The author concludes that it is unlikely that faulty genes contribute to the appearance of the major psychiatric disorders. Rather, the likely causes are well-known and well-documented psychologically harmful events and environments. An exception may be autism, where there is some evidence that non-genetic biological factors play a role.
This book is essential reading for anyone seeking an alternative to the increasingly popular, yet scientifically unsupported view that "genes are destiny."
Promissory Genes
Some of us, most of us, take what science tells us very seriously. Our view of ourselves, and of others, is heavily informed by what we believe is the scientific position. If it turns out that we are little more than our genes, that we are biochemical robots, then we must face up to the truth, dispiriting as it may be, and deal with it as best we can.
Concentrating on the field of psychiatric genetics, Jay Joseph argues that the genetic determinism so taken for granted in modern times is not based on sound science.
This is a serious and controversial claim. Many people become angry if you even so much as suggest that a psychiatric disorder may not be genetic. Strong arguments are therefore needed. With the knowledge that he is militating against a well-entrenched orthodoxy, Joseph has written this extremely detailed, rigorously argued book, dedicating many of its chapters to lengthy critical assessments of original research papers.
While some may be put off by the rather pedantic level of argumentation, it is, to my mind, absolutely necessary; and if you are willing to put the time in, occasionally exhilarating.
It is too easy for genetically oriented researchers to blithely dismiss serious criticism as the work of know-nothing armchair critics with ideological agendas.
Joseph is no armchair critic. Although he is a clinical psychologist and not a research scientist, his doctoral thesis was a critical examination of the schizophrenia twin studies literature, and the majority of his publications since then have been dedicated to this very specific, and very important, area.
As the book makes clear, he is often more familiar with the foundational research of psychiatric genetics than the researchers themselves.
Joseph's scholarship is outstanding; his level of familiarity with the science and history of psychiatric genetics is immense. Primary and secondary sources are quoted often and at length, everything is thoroughly sourced, the arguments proceed clearly and logically, and his tone is measured, professional.
In cases of obvious academic fraud and gross incompetence, Joseph is careful not to ascribe conscious intent, opining more generally at the 'unfortunate' state of affairs.
Only once does he explicitly get angry with a few modern psychiatric geneticists, and it's to call them 'poor historians indeed' in a footnote. Seeing as it was in the context of their attempted absolution of the leaders of the Munich School (an early psychiatric genetic organisation) from complicity in the Nazi eugenic and extermination programs, when widely available documentary evidence suggests very strongly otherwise, one can understand Joseph's academic outburst. That the founder of the school is claimed by a certain psychiatric geneticist to have been disgusted by Hitler's misuse of his research, even though it is widely known that he was not only a fervent support of the Nazi government but a formal legislator of some of its most draconian eugenics policies, is enough to make one pause and consider the lengths that people will go to defend their world-view, and just how many readers they are willing to lead astray.
Although the historical analyses in this book are fascinating, and even disturbing, the large majority of its contents are devoted to scientific analysis. This is where Joseph is at his most brilliant.
His critique of the Equal Environment Assumption in all its varied and bizarre reformulations is a supreme example of logical analysis. Here Joseph cuts to the quick of psychiatric genetics, because if the EEA is invalid, as Joseph cogently argues, then the vast majority of twin studies done to date are scientifically useless.
When one considers their many other, more particular, invalidating flaws (biased statistical manipulation, the post hoc redefinitions of the disorder under study to achieve statistical significance, among many others) the case for the genetic transmission of psychiatric disorders is about as scientifically compelling as phrenology.
There is much more to this book than a one thousand word review can do justice to. By the book's conclusion, I was convinced that the well-publicised claims about the genetic determination of psychiatric disorders are based more on politics, rhetoric and second-hand information than sound science. It took a book of this level of complexity and detail to convince me.
Vague humanistic platitudes, while comforting for a time, are hard to sustain against a countervailing science. It is liberating to know that, in the case of psychiatric and behavioural genetics, the 'countervailing science' is largely built on air, and that the evidence, in fact, supports a more open view, where human beings are genuine individuals, not shambling automata, whose psychological difficulties are not the fault of their broken genes, but caused by well-known, and repairable, psychological and environmental factors.
A quotation from J.R. Lucas, former president of the British Society for the Philosophy of Science. His writings on human identity and value are among the best I've ever read, and show that to be scientific does not imply belief in the brutal pessimism of reductionist science, of which psychiatric and behavioural genetics are complementary parts. I am confident that Joseph would agree with the following passage.
'Each [of us] is a definite individual, ultimately responsible for what he decides to do, while being also an indeterminate shimmering of different personalities, revealed and developed in different personal relationships. Each is unique, of infinite complexity, transcending all stereotypes and neat classification, while needing also to be a safe pair of hands, who can be relied on to do his bit when required.'
Syracuse Gate
---
blurb
What causes psychiatric disorders to appear? Are they primarily the result of people’s environments, or of their genes? Increasingly, we are told that research has confirmed the importance of genetic influences on psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, autism, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
This timely, challenging book provides a much-needed critical appraisal of the evidence cited in support of genetic theories of psychiatric disorders, which hold that these disorders are caused by an inherited genetic predisposition in combination with environmental agents or events.
In fact, the field of psychiatric genetics is approaching the crisis stage due to the continuing failure, despite years of concerted worldwide efforts, to identify genes presumed to underlie most mental disorders.
The belief that such genes exist is based on studies of families, twins, and adoptees. However, the author shows that these studies provide little if any scientifically acceptable evidence in support of genetics. Moreover it is not true, as is frequently reported in the popular media, that genes for the major psychiatric disorders have already been discovered.
In fact, researchers’ initial "discoveries" are rarely replicated.
As this becomes more understood, and as fruitless gene finding efforts continue to pile up, we may well be headed towards a paradigm shift in psychiatry away from genetic and biological explanations of mental disorders, and towards a greater understanding of how family, social, and political environments contribute to human psychological distress.
Indeed, Kenneth Kendler, a leading twin researcher and psychiatric geneticist for over two decades, wrote in a 2005 edition of The American Journal of Psychiatry that the "strong, clear, and direct causal relationship implied by the concept of 'a gene for …....' does not exist for psychiatric disorders. Although we may wish it to be true, we do not have and are not likely to ever discover 'genes for' psychiatric illness."
And Peter Propping, recipient of the 2004 Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Society of Psychiatric Genetics, wrote in 2005 as follows: "Whereas genetically complex traits are being successfully pinned down to the molecular level in other fields of medicine, psychiatric genetics still awaits a major breakthrough."
The author devotes individual chapters to ADHD, autism, and bipolar disorder, where he argues that, contrary to frequent claims that they are "heavily genetically influenced," there exists little evidence supporting a genetic foundation for these diagnoses. Looking specifically at autism, despite the near-unanimous opinion that it has an important genetic component, the evidence cited in support of this position is stunningly weak.
It consists mainly of family studies, which cannot disentangle the potential influences of genes and environment, and four small methodologically flawed twin studies whose results can be explained by non-genetic factors. Not surprisingly, then, years of efforts to find "autism genes" have come up empty.
The Missing Gene is an important book because theories based on genetic research are having a profound impact on both scientific and public thinking, as well as on social policy decisions. In addition, genetic theories influence the types of clinical treatments received by people diagnosed with psychiatric disorders.
Yet, as the author demonstrates, these theories do not stand up to critical examination.
Like the author’s previous work, "The Gene Illusion: Genetic Research in Psychiatry and Psychology Under the Microscope," this will be a controversial book, and is sure to spark intense discussion among people interested in the causes of psychiatric disorders.
As in The Gene Illusion, the author challenges many positions viewed by mainstream psychiatry and psychology as established facts.
In the process, he shows that textbooks and other authoritative sources sometimes provide misleading or inaccurate accounts of research put forward as supporting the genetic position.
The author concludes that it is unlikely that faulty genes contribute to the appearance of the major psychiatric disorders. Rather, the likely causes are well-known and well-documented psychologically harmful events and environments. An exception may be autism, where there is some evidence that non-genetic biological factors play a role.
This book is essential reading for anyone seeking an alternative to the increasingly popular, yet scientifically unsupported view that "genes are destiny."
Displaying 1 of 1 review