Mapping the Schizophrenia Genes by Neuroimaging: The Opportunities and the Challenges

International Journal of Molecular Sciences

Ayla Arslan¹ 

[1] Genetics and Bioengineering Program, Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences, International University of Sarajevo, Hrasnica cesta, 15 Ilidza, Sarajevo 71210, Bosnia and Herzegovina;

关键词: neuroimaging;    brain;    MRI;    fMRI;    GWAS;    schizophrenia;    magnetic resonance imaging;    prefrontal cortex;    common variants;    single nucleotide polymorphism;    imaging genomics;    imaging genetics;   

DOI  :  10.3390/ijms19010219

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Schizophrenia (SZ) is a heritable brain disease originating from a complex interaction of genetic and environmental factors. The genes underpinning the neurobiology of SZ are largely unknown but recent data suggest strong evidence for genetic variations, such as single nucleotide polymorphisms, making the brain vulnerable to the risk of SZ. Structural and functional brain mapping of these genetic variations are essential for the development of agents and tools for better diagnosis, treatment and prevention of SZ. Addressing this, neuroimaging methods in combination with genetic analysis have been increasingly used for almost 20 years. So-called imaging genetics, the opportunities of this approach along with its limitations for SZ research will be outlined in this invited paper. While the problems such as reproducibility, genetic effect size, specificity and sensitivity exist, opportunities such as multivariate analysis, development of multisite consortia for large-scale data collection, emergence of non-candidate gene (hypothesis-free) approach of neuroimaging genetics are likely to contribute to a rapid progress for gene discovery besides to gene validation studies that are related to SZ.

【 授权许可】

Unknown