Loading...
Researchers examining the genetic components of schizophrenia have reported contradictory results and diagnostic overlap. These investigators addressed such inconsistencies by studying endophenotypes — discrete, objective, and reliable inherited phenotypes that represent neurobiologic functions and transcend specific diagnoses.
Each of the 183 participating families had a proband with diagnosed schizophrenia. The researchers established heritability by assessing the prevalence of each endophenotype in probands and their relatives (both parents and at least one sibling). The endophenotypes were measures of filtering of irrelevant information (prepulse inhibition, P50 suppression, antisaccade task); neurocognitive measures (sustained, focused …