Some mental illnesses, like bipolar disorder, are caused by both genetics and the environment. Although certain life circumstances can exacerbate chemical disruptions in the brain, scientists who study bipolar disorder believe there is a genetic component to the resulting mood and behavior disturbances.
No single gene has been pinpointed as the cause of bipolar disorder, and the complexity of the disorder makes it difficult to track down which genes might be turning on or off what chemical processes in the brain. A paper published in 2014 by the National Institute of Health states there are some single-nucleotide polymorphisms which seem to be associated with bipolar disorder and the heritability of this disorder. This means that there may be some chain(s) of "code" in a person's genes which are at the root of the development of this disorder.
It is important to understand bipolar disorder is a complex mental illness and may vary greatly from one person to the next. Where genetics is involved, it is not so simple as one gene causing the disorder. Rather, many chromosomes may play a role in creating the kind of brain structure and chemistry that results in symptomatic behavior.
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