Microarray Technology: A Review of New Strategies to Discover Candidate Vulnerability Genes in Psychiatric Disorders

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Abstract
OBJECTIVE: An international effort is in progress to discover candidate genes and pathways associated with psychiatric disorders, including two of the most serious diseases, schizophrenia and mood disorders, through the use of new technology—microarrays. Instead of studying one gene at a time, microarrays provide the opportunity to analyze thousands of genes at once. METHOD: This article reviews the steps in this discovery process, including the acquisition and characterization of high-quality postmortem brain tissue, RNA extraction, and preparation and use of microarray technology. Two alternative microarray methods and factors affecting the quality of array data are reviewed. RESULTS: New analytical strategies are being developed to process the massive data sets generated by microarray studies and to define the significance of implicated genes. Array results must be validated by other methods, including in situ hybridization and real-time polymerase chain reaction. Identified genes can also be evaluated...