November 2001
If you're compulsive, can you blame it on your genes
If you're able to open wide and sit still
for 10 seconds while someone swabs the inside of your cheek with
a Q-tip, you may be qualified to help a Florida State scientist
look for answers to the mystery of mental disorder.
Thomas Joiner, psychology professor, has a grant to study a genetic link to a disorder that compels as many as one of 50 adults to repeat incessantly simple everyday tasks.
Joiner and Frank Johnson, director of the FSU Psychology Molecular
Neu-roscience Laboratory, will study the serotonin transporter
gene (a chemical messenger in the brain) and its possible connection
to obsessive-compulsive behavior.
"It is one piece of the puzzle," Joiner said. "I view it as one of the initial steps of a whole program of research linking various genes and psychological variables to mental disorders."
Those with obsessive-compulsive behavior are dominated by inexplicable urges. The most common repeated behavior is to wash and rewash their hands.
Others may mindlessly count blocks or bricks or anything countable, or check on window or door locks over and over again.
The grant comes from the Obsessive-Compulsive Foundation in North Branford, Conn. The foundation has more than 10,000 members, either those who suffer from the syndrome or their relatives and friends.
Joiner came to FSU in 1997 after teaching at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston.
A graduate of Prince-ton and the University of Texas at Austin is a Bright-Burton professor of psychology at FSU and director of the FSU Psychology Clinic. His chair is named after two 16th century scientists, Bright and Burton, who wrote about depression in a manner usable in modern times.
Joiner was recognized by the American Psycho-logical Association for early career contributions to psychopathology, especially depression, suicide and eating disorders. He has been cited for excellence in suicide research.
For their research, Joiner and Johnson are looking for volunteers from the general public. Anyone can participate who is at least 18 years old and willing to agree to an interview and allow a small sample of saliva to be collected from the inner cheek.
The study needs people who suffer from obsessive-compulsive behavior as well as those who don't.
Participants in the study do not have to go to FSU's campus.
The tests can be done in about 30 seconds. The tests involve
using a Q-tip to swab the inside of the cheek and collect saliva.
The Q-tip is then mailed to the FSU lab.
Anyone interested should call, 850. 644.9362. - Dana Peck
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