P300 and Genetic Risk for Schizophrenia

Abstract
SCHIZOPHRENIA IS considered a heritable disorder with a complex genetic architecture interacting with environmental factors. Family-based linkage studies1 with noncoding markers spanning the genome have identified a few minor susceptibility loci that have been difficult to replicate. Because of this genetic complexity, positional cloning of these loci may be a daunting task, requiring large study samples.2 The goal of reducing the genetic complexity is the rationale for studying biological traits as intermediate phenotypes.3-6 One example of biological traits is event-related potentials (ERPs).7 Event-related potentials tend to be relatively stable and heritable characteristics, and several studies have shown that the ERP P300, that is, its temporoparietal and frontal subcomponents, may be a useful electrophysiologic trait marker for schizophrenia.

This publication has 2 references indexed in Scilit: