Parents pass on the risk of developing mental illnesses, including depression and anxiety, to their children, a new study has shown.
Children can inherit over-active brain circuits which link three parts of the brain, making them more prone to anxiety and depressive disorders, according to scientists.
To make their findings published in the journal 'Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences', experts studying almost 600 young rhesus monkeys – which are the cousins of humans - from a large multi-generational family.
They found that around 35 per cent of variation in anxiety-like tendencies is explained by family history.