Consensus paper of the WFSBP Task Force on Biological Markers: Criteria for biomarkers and endophenotypes of schizophrenia part II: Cognition, neuroimaging and genetics.
Schizophrenia is a group of severe psychiatric disorders with high heritability but only low odds ratios of risk genes. Despite progress in the identification of pathophysiological processes, valid biomarkers of the disease are still lacking.



This comprehensive review summarises recent efforts to identify genetic underpinnings, clinical and cognitive endophenotypes and symptom dimensions of schizophrenia and presents findings from neuroimaging studies with structural, functional and spectroscopy magnetic resonance imaging and positron emission tomography. The potential of findings to be biomarkers of schizophrenia is discussed.



Recent findings have not resulted in clear biomarkers for schizophrenia. However, we identified several biomarkers that are potential candidates for future research. Among them, copy number variations and links between genetic polymorphisms derived from genome-wide analysis studies, clinical or cognitive phenotypes, multimodal neuroimaging findings including positron emission tomography and magnetic resonance imaging, and the application of multivariate pattern analyses are promising.



Future studies should address the effects of treatment and stage of the disease more precisely and apply combinations of biomarker candidates. Although biomarkers for schizophrenia await validation, knowledge on candidate genomic and neuroimaging biomarkers is growing rapidly and research on this topic has the potential to identify psychiatric endophenotypes and in the future increase insight on individual treatment response in schizophrenia.
a Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy , LMU Munich , Germany ;|b Laboratory of Neuroscience (LIM27), Institute of Psychiatry , University of Sao Paulo , Sao Paulo , Brazil ;
Andrea
A
Schmitt
c Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics , University of Halle , Germany ;
Dan
D
Rujescu
d Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics , University of Würzburg , Germany ;
Micha
M
Gawlik
a Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy , LMU Munich , Germany ;
Alkomiet
A
Hasan
e Division of Clinical Neuroscience , Chiba University Center for Forensic Mental Health , Chiba , Japan ;
Kenji
K
Hashimoto
f INSERM, U1028; CNRS, UMR5292; Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, PsyR2 Team , Lyon , F-69000 , France ; Hospices Civils De Lyon, France ;
Sylvain
S
Iceta
g Department of Psychiatry , Institute of Psychiatry and Neurology , Warsaw , Poland ;
Marek
M
Jarema
a Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy , LMU Munich , Germany ;
Joseph
J
Kambeitz
h Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy , Medical University of Vienna , Austria ;
Siegfried
S
Kasper
a Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy , LMU Munich , Germany ;
Daniel
D
Keeser
i Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy , Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nuremberg , Erlangen , Germany ;
Johannes
J
Kornhuber
a Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy , LMU Munich , Germany ;
Nikolaos
N
Koutsouleris
h Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy , Medical University of Vienna , Austria ;
Rupert
R
Lanzenberger
a Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy , LMU Munich , Germany ;
Berend
B
Malchow
f INSERM, U1028; CNRS, UMR5292; Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, PsyR2 Team , Lyon , F-69000 , France ; Hospices Civils De Lyon, France ;
Mohamed
M
Saoud
h Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy , Medical University of Vienna , Austria ;
Marie
M
Spies
d Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics , University of Würzburg , Germany ;
Gerald
G
Stöber
j Department of Psychiatry , University Hospital Cochin (Site Tarnier), University of Paris-Descartes, INSERM U 894 Centre Psychiatry and Neurosciences , Paris , France ;
Florence
F
Thibaut
k Center of Psychic Health; Clinic and Policlinic for Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, University Hospital of Wuerzburg , Germany.
Peter
P
Riederer
a Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy , LMU Munich , Germany ;
Peter
P
Falkai
D026683:Advisory Committees; D015415:Biomarkers; D001921:Brain / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D003071:Cognition; D056915:DNA Copy Number Variations; D058068:Endophenotypes; D055106:Genome-Wide Association Study; D006801:Humans; D059906:Neuroimaging / Q000592:standards*; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000235:genetics*; D012955:Societies, Medical
D015415:Biomarkers
Schizophrenia; biomarkers; cognition; genetics; neuroimaging