Does reading maps make you nervous? Blame your genes

London, Feb 26: If the very thought of spatial and mathematical tasks, such as reading a map or solving a geometry problem, makes you nervous, it could be partly due to your genes, suggests a new research. “Our results have important implications for finding specific genes which contribute to differences in anxiety between people,” said Margherita Malanchini from the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience at King’s College London. “Pinpointing specific genes for anxiety could help in identifying children who are most at risk from very early in their lives, and subsequently to intervene and prevent the development of anxiety in these different contexts,” Malanchini added. In the study researchers measured anxiety in a sample of more than 1,400 twin pairs aged 19 to 21 from the Twins Early Development Study (TEDS). (IANS)