Genomics of Neuropsychiatric Disorders

Common neuropsychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have high heritabilities >0.8, indicating a strong genetic component to their etiology. Mortality is increased for these disorders but their biggest impact on societies and economies is due to the often chronic illness and significant disability that they cause. They have some commons symptoms; psychosis in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, cognitive impairment in schizophrenia and ASD, indicating some shared biology despite different developmental trajectories. The systematic application of genome-wide association studies (GWAS) and next-generation sequencing (NGS) technologies to large population-based and family-based sample collections, coordinated by collaborative research consortia, has resulted in hundreds of new genetic findings for these disorders. This is uncovering the role of common and rare genetic variants in the etiology of these disorders and shining a light on their molecular mechanisms down to the individual types of cells that are affected in the brain. This Special Issue will bring together a set of reviews and research articles that explore how the application of genomics data science to genetic and phenotypic data from studies of neuropsychiatric disorders is providing novel insights into the biology of these illnesses.

Dr. Derek Morris
Guest Editor

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