Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-8bhkd Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-18T15:03:24.558Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Considerations on the Role of Genetics in Psychiatric Research

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 November 2014

Giovanni P. A. Placidi  and
Maura Boldrini
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

During the last 30 years, several studies in psychiatric genetics have been conducted. These include a series of clinical and family-oriented studies on genetic factors in schizophrenia, alcoholism, and manic-depressive disorder. Since these trials have taken place, great emphasis has been placed on the hypothesis that psychiatric disorders could have a genetic vulnerability. This hypothesis is supported by significant advancements in biological and mathematical analysis methods, as well as by the large number of epidemiological and diagnostic studies on the prevalence of psychiatric disorders in patients' families. This article provides on overview of this research.

Many other hypotheses have been raised by the optimism of research, but are often followed by experimental failures. There are several pitfalls in methods, ranging from sample selection to genotyping to statistical analysis methods. Finally, the interpretations of the results often have been misunderstood. Nonetheless, this body of research contributes to future genetic perspectives in psychiatry.

Type
Feature Article
Information
CNS Spectrums , Volume 2 , Issue 9: Reflections on the Future of Neuroscience , October 1997 , pp. 42 - 44
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1997

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1.Fieve, RR, Rosenthal, D, Brill, H, eds. Genetic Research in Psychiatry: Proceedings of the 63rd Annual Meeting of the American Psychopathological Association. Baltimore, Md: John Hopkins University Press; 1975.Google Scholar
2.Elston, RC. P values, power, and pitfalls in the linkage analysis of psychiatric disorders. In: Gershon, ES, Cloninger, CR, eds. Genetic Approaches to Mental Disorders. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Press; 1994.Google Scholar
3.Mcguffin, P, Katz, R. The genetics of depression and manic-depressive illness. Br J Psychiatry. 1989;155:294–304.Google Scholar
4.Mendlewicz, J, Rainer, J. Adoption studies supporting genetic transmission in manic-depressive illness. Nature. 1977;268:326–329.Google Scholar
5.Bertelsen, A, Harvald, B, Hauge, M. A Danish twin study of manic-depressive disorders. Br J Psychiatry. 1997;130;330–354.Google Scholar
6.Torgersen, S. Genetic factors in moderately severe and mild affective disorders. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1986;43:222–226.Google Scholar
7.Gershon, ES, Hamovit, J, Guroff, JJ, et al.A family study of schizoaffective, bipolar I, bipolar II, unipolar and normal control probands. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1982;39:1157–1167.Google Scholar
8.Egeland, JA, Jerhard, DS, Pauls, DL, et al.Bipolar affective disorders linked to DNA markers on chromosome 11. Nature. 1987;325:783–787.Google Scholar
9.Kelsoe, JR, Ginns, EI, Egeland, JA, et al.Re-evaluation of the linkage relationship between chromosome 11p loci and the gene for bipolar affective disorder in the Old Order Amish. Nature. 1989;342:238–243.Google Scholar
10.Mendlewicz, J, Simon, P, Sevy, S, et al.Polymorphic DNA markers on X chromosome and manic-depression. Lancet. 1987;1230–1236.Google Scholar
11.Baron, M, Risch, N, Hamburger, R, et al.Genetic linkage between X-chromosome markers and bipolar affective illness. Nature. 1987;326:289–292.Google Scholar
12.Baron, M, Freimer, NF, Risch, N, et al.Diminished support for linkage between manic-depressive illness and X-chromosome markers in three Israeli pedigrees. Nat Genet. 1993;3:49–55.Google Scholar
13.Berrettini, WH, Ferraro, TN, Goldin, LR, et al.Chromosome 18 DNA marker and manic-depressive illness: evidence for a susceptibility gene. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 1994;91:5918–5921.Google Scholar
14.Stine, OL, Xu, J, Koskela, R, et al.Evidence for linkage of bipolar disorder and chromosome 18 with a parent-of-origin effect. Am J Hum Genet. 1995;57:1384–1394.Google Scholar
15.Straub, RE, Lehner, T, Luo, Y, et al.A possible vulnerabiity locus for bipolar affective disorder on chromosome 21q22.3. Nat Genet. 1994;8:291–296.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
16.Benjamin, J. Genetic discoveries in human behavior: small effect genes loom large. Biol Psychiatry. 1996;40:313–316.Google Scholar
17.Kendler, KS, McGuire, M, Gruenberg, AM, et al.The Roscommon Family Study. I. Methods, diagnosis of probands, and risk of schizophrenia in relatives. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1993;50:527–540.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
18.Kendler, KS. Overview: a current perspective on twin studies of schizophrenia. Am J Psychiatry. 1983;140:1413–1425.Google Scholar
19.Risch, N. Genetic linkage and complex disease, with special reference to psychiatric disorders. Genet Epidemiol. 1990;7:3–16.Google Scholar
20.Risch, N. Linkage strategies for genetically complex traits: I. Multilocus model. Am J Hum Genet. 1990;46:222–228.Google Scholar
21.Bassett, AS, McGillivray, BC, Jones, BD, et al.Partial trisomy chromosome 5 cosegregating with schizophrenia. Lancet. 1988;1:799–800.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
22.McGuffin, P, Sargeant, M, Hetti, G, et al.Exclusions of a schizophrenia susceptibility gene for the chromosome 5q11-5q13 region: new data and reanalysis of previous reports. Am J Hum Genet. 1990;47:524–535.Google Scholar
23.Crowe, RR, Noyes, R, Pauls, DL, Slymen, D. A family study of panic disorder. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1983;40:1065–1069.Google Scholar
24.Torgensen, S. Genetic factors in anxiety disorder. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1983;40:1085–1089.Google Scholar
25.Pauls, Dl, Bucher, KD, Crowe, RR, Noyes, R. A genetic study of panic disorder pedigrees. Am J Hum Genet. 1980;32:639–644.Google ScholarPubMed
26.Merikangas, KR. The genetic epidemiology of alcoholism. Psychol Med. 1990;20:11–22.Google Scholar
27.Kendler, KS, McGuire, M, Gruenberg, AM, et al.A population-based twin study of alcoholism in women. JAMA. 1992;268:1877–1882.Google Scholar
28.Cloninger, CR, Bohman, M, Sigvardsson, S. Inheritance of alcohol abuse: cross-fostering analysis of adopted men. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1981;38:861–868.Google Scholar
29.Goodwin, DW. Alcohol problems in adoptees raised apart from alcoholic biological parents. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1973;28:238–255.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
30.Aston, CE, Hill, SY. Segregation analysis of alcoholism in families ascertained through a pair of male alcoholics. Am J Hum Genet. 1990;46:879–887.Google Scholar
31.Crowe, RR. Genetics. In: Bloom, FE, Kupfer, DJ, eds. Psychepharmacology: The Fourth Generation of Progress. New York: Raven Press; 1995.Google Scholar
32.Berrettini, WH. Is investment in molecular genetics worth-while? Biol Psychiatry. 1991;30:213–215.Google Scholar
33.Kan, YW, Dozy, AM. Antenatal diagnosis of sickle-cell anemia by DNA analysis of amniotic fluid cells. Lancet. 1975;11:910.Google Scholar
34.Gusella, JF, Wexler, NS, Conneally, PM, et al.A polymorphic DNA marker genetically linked to Huntington's disease. Nature. 1982;306:234–238.Google Scholar
35.Knowlton, RG, Katzenstein, PL, Moskowitz, RW, et al.Genetic linkage of a polymorphism in the type II procollagen gene (COL2A1) to primary osteoarthritis associated with mild chondrodysplasia. N Engl J Med. 1990;322:530–536.Google Scholar
36.Palotie, A, Veisanen, P, Ott, J, et al.Predisposition in familial osteoarthrosis linked to type II collagen gene. Lancet. 1989;1:924–927.Google Scholar
37.Goate, Am, Aynes, AR, Owen, MJ. Predisposing locus for Alzheimer's disease on chromosome 21. Lancet. 1989;1:352–355.Google Scholar
38.St. George-Hyslop, PH, Tanzi, RE, Polinsky, RJ, et al.The genetic defect causing familial Alzheimer's disease maps on chromosome 21. Science. 1987;235:885–890.Google Scholar
39.Van Broeckhoven, C, Van Hul, W, Backhovens, H, et al.The familial Alzheimer disease gene is located close to the centromere of chromosome 21. Am J Hum Genet. 1988;43:205–212.Google Scholar
40.Merikangas, KR, Spense, MA, Kupfer, DJ. Linkage studies of bipolar disorder: methodologic and analytic issues. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1989;46:1137–1141.Google Scholar
41.Suarez, BK, O'Rourke, D, Van Eerdewegh, P. Power of affected sib-pair method to detect disease susceptibility loci of small effect: an application to multiple sclerosis. Am J Med Genet. 1982;12:309–326.Google Scholar
42.Weeks, DE, Lange, K. The affected-pedigree-member methods of linkage analysis. Am J Hum Genet. 1988;42:315–326.Google Scholar
43.Suarez, BK, Hampe, CL, Van Eerdewegh, P. Problems of replicating linkage claims in psychiatry. In: Gershon, ES, Cloninger, CR, eds. Genetic Approaches to Mental Disorders. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Press; 1994.Google Scholar
44.Plomin, R. The role of inheritance in behavior. Science. 1990;248:183–188.Google Scholar
45.Loehlin, JC. Genes and environment in personality development. Newbury Park, Calif: Sage; 1992.Google Scholar
46.Ebstein, RP, Novick, O, Umansky, R, et al.D4DR exon III polymorphism associated with the personality trait of novelty seeking in normal human volunteers. Nat Genet. 1996;12:78–80.Google Scholar