In terms of having a genetic predisposition, what could be mutated in the synaptic cleft that would be related to a mental illness?

Answer 1

Any damage to the junction that helps electrical impulses pass between neurons, can cause different mental illnesses. Do children learn certain traits from mentally ill parents, or are they truly genetically predisposed? Is it environmental, chemical, or caused by other damaging factors? Resource evidence shows that the pattern and strength of the synaptic connections are constantly changing (synaptic plasticity), and these changes are considered to underlie learning, memory, and personality disorders (Lepeta et al., 2016).

Alterations in gene expression induced by changes in environmental input support ongoing events that define brain development, and disruption of either can fundamentally alter neural outcomes (Epidemiological, developmental, and neuroimaging studies have indicated that schizophrenia (SZ) has its origins in disturbances in development (the neurodevelopmental hypothesis of SZ (Obi-Nagata et al., 2019).

The synaptic cleft can have many genetic variations leading to Alzheimer's, Schizophrenia, and other mental illnesses. However, pinpointing a specific mutation depends on what mental illness you are researching.