Animal models of gene-environment interaction in schizophrenia: A dimensional perspective.
Schizophrenia has long been considered as a disorder with multifactorial origins. Recent discoveries have advanced our understanding of the genetic architecture of the disease. However, even with the increase of identified risk variants, heritability estimates suggest an important contribution of non-genetic factors. Various environmental risk factors have been proposed to play a role in the etiopathogenesis of schizophrenia. These include season of birth, maternal infections, obstetric complications, adverse events at early childhood, and drug abuse. Despite the progress in identification of genetic and environmental risk factors, we still have a limited understanding of the mechanisms whereby gene-environment interactions (G × E) operate in schizophrenia and psychoses at large. In this review we provide a critical analysis of current animal models of G × E relevant to psychotic disorders and propose that dimensional perspective will advance our understanding of the complex mechanisms of these disorders.
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, USA; Hacettepe University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, Turkey.
Yavuz
Y
Ayhan
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, USA; Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, USA.
Ross
R
McFarland
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, USA; Solomon H Snyder Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, USA; Department of Molecular and Comparative Pathobiology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, USA; Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, USA. Electronic address: mpletnik@jhmi.edu.
Mikhail V
MV
Pletnikov
D000818:Animals; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D059647:Gene-Environment Interaction; D006801:Humans; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000235:genetics* / Q000503:physiopathology*
Animal models; Dimensional perspective; Psychotic disorders; RDoC