Biomarkers for Psychosis: the Molecular Genetics of Psychosis

Abstract

Substantial progress has been made in understanding the genetic architecture of psychosis but also in identifying a subset of the contributory risk genes. At a molecular level, there is significant overlap between major psychotic disorders (e.g., schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, schizoaffective disorder) but also moderate levels of covariance with other psychiatric conditions (e.g., depression, autistic spectrum disorders). Despite advances, psychosis remains a clinical, syndromal diagnosis in almost all cases. The challenge is to translate progress in genomics into understanding of biological processes that can be objectively measured to inform risk, diagnosis, treatment response, and disease severity/outcome. With this in mind, we review recent results and ongoing research in psychosis genomics.