title: Ambulatory monitoring in the genetics of psychosomatic medicine.
abstract: Psychosomatic disorders are composed of an array of psychological, biologic, and environmental features. The existing evidence points to a role for genetic factors in explaining individual differences in the development and maintenance of a variety of disorders, but studies to date have not shown consistent and replicable effects. As such, the attempt to uncover individual differences in the expression of psychosomatic disorders as a function of genetic architecture requires careful attention to their phenotypic architecture or the various intermediate phenotypes that make up a heterogeneous disorder. Ambulatory monitoring offers a novel approach to measuring time-variant and situation-dependent intermediate phenotypes. Recent examples of the use of ambulatory monitoring in genetic studies of stress reactivity, chronic pain, alcohol use disorders, and psychosocial resilience are reviewed in an effort to highlight the benefits of ambulatory monitoring for genetic study designs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
authors.forename: Patrick H
authors.initials: PH
authors.lastname: Finan
authors.forename: Howard
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tennen
authors.forename: Felix
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Thoemmes
authors.forename: Alex J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Zautra
authors.forename: Mary C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Davis
mesh_terms: D000437:Alcoholism / Q000235:genetics / Q000503:physiopathology; D056726:Genetic Association Studies / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D007206:Individuality; D018670:Monitoring, Ambulatory; D058748:Pain Perception / Q000502:physiology; D010641:Phenotype; D011602:Psychophysiologic Disorders / Q000235:genetics*; D011611:Psychosomatic Medicine; D012107:Research Design; D055500:Resilience, Psychological; D057566:Self Report; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000235:genetics / Q000503:physiopathology