title: Genetic strategies in biological psychiatry.
abstract: Studies of the etiology of schizophrenia and other psychiatric illnesses may be executed by using a genetic framework in the experimental design. This article describes research strategies for identifying the genetic factors that produce a vulnerability to a psychiatric illness. The proposed strategies evaluate the role of a given genetic factor by comparing the transmission of this factor within pedigrees to the transmission of that illness. In a biologically heterogeneous disorder, these strategies can be used to identify homogeneous subgroups. This report also describes a strategy for identification of the environmental events that promote the development of a psychiatric illness, either independently or in conjunction with the genetic diathesis.
mesh_terms: D002874:Chromosome Mapping; D004200:Diseases in Twins; D005824:Genetics, Behavioral; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000235:genetics*; D008995:Monoamine Oxidase / Q000097:blood; D010375:Pedigree; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics; D012931:Social Environment
chemical_list: D008995:Monoamine Oxidase