Genes for susceptibility to mental disorder are not mental disorder: Clarifying the target of evolutionary analysis and the role of the environment

Abstract

In this commentary, we critique the appropriate behavioural features for evolutionary genetic analysis, the role of the environment, and the viability of a general evolutionary genetic model for all common mental disorders. In light of these issues, we suggest that the authors may have prematurely discounted the role of some of the mechanisms they review, particularly balancing selection. © 2006 Cambridge University Press.