Newsletter

Understanding, Predicting and Improving Behaviors2021-09-18

Behaviors are ways to achieve or advance towards your perceived life objectives. A checklist of factors that influence a behavior includes contributions from six domains: genes, body, mind, environment, culture, and addictions. This checklist can provide a score that reflects the likelihood of an individual doing that behavior in the future. The items that are positive on the checklist have different weights of importance. The items that are related to culture are in general more specific for a behavior, while items related to other domains, such as mind and body, may be more sensitive. They also vary from individual to individual. As such there is an individualized profile that can be affected by targeted interventions to facilitate that behavior, if it is a constructive one for the individual’s life, or prevent that behavior, if it is a destructive one.

Biomarkers underlying propensity to behaviors can also be identified, like we did for suicide (Niculescu et al. 2017). They can be viewed as a checklist of biological measures, primarily related to body responses. Genes, body and environmental effects lead to gene expression changes, that can be detected, for example, as blood gene expression biomarkers. These biomarkers can vary from individual to individual. There is an individualized profile that can be affected by targeted interventions, such as matched medications.

Our research over the years has translated into practical applications and tools, available now from MindX Sciences. The Life x Improve prescription web app provides a suicidality risk score integrating all the risk factors listed above and more, and generates a personalized risk reduction and life improvement plan. The prescription MindX Blood Test-Suicidality provides matching with nutraceuticals and pharmaceuticals that can reduce risk.

Live. Happier. Longer.

Bob