New strategy could uncover genes at the root of psychiatric illnesses
Thursday, July 3, 2014 - 20:01
in Biology & Nature
Understanding the basis of psychiatric disorders has been extremely challenging because there are many genetic variants that may increase risk but are insufficient to cause disease. Now investigators describe a strategy that may help reveal how such 'subthreshold' genetic risks interact with other risk factors or environmental exposures to affect the development of the nervous system. Their research pinpoints a genetic variant that may predispose individuals to schizophrenia.