The Maudsley Family Study of Psychosis: A Quest for Intermediate Phenotypes (Maudsley Monographs)

Psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder are known to be highly heritable. Despite decades of research, however, the genetic variations conferring susceptibility to these illnesses have yet to be identified. Such genetic variations most likely produce abnormalities of brain structure and function from which the clinical features of psychosis emerge. The Maudsley Family Study of Psychosis investigates the genetically produced markers of abnormal brain structure and function (‘intermediate phenotypes’) which underlie the clinical syndrome of schizophrenia, and more recently bipolar disorder. In this book, key findings of this important research program, and their implications for this field, are discussed in detail. Contributors outline research examining brain structure and functioning in patients with schizophrenia and their unaffected first degree relatives, incorporating detailed clinical assessments, magnetic resonance imaging, electrophysiology, eye tracking measures and neuropsychology. This book provides an improved understanding of illness pathways and potential scope for intervention in order to better manage and prevent psychotic disorders and will be of interest to academics and clinicians in the field. Psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder are known to be highly heritable. Despite decades of research, however, the genetic variations conferring susceptibility to these illnesses have yet to be identified. Such genetic variations most likely produce abnormalities of brain structure and function from which the clinical features of psychosis emerge. __The Maudsley Family Study of Psychosis__ investigates the genetically produced markers of abnormal brain structure and function (‘intermediate phenotypes’) which underlie the clinical syndrome of schizophrenia, and more recently bipolar disorder. In this book, key findings of this important research program, and their implications for this field, are discussed in detail. Contributors outline research examining brain structure and functioning in patients with schizophrenia and their unaffected first degree relatives, incorporating detailed clinical assessments, magnetic resonance imaging, electrophysiology, eye tracking measures and neuropsychology. This book provides an improved understanding of illness pathways and potential scope for intervention in order to better manage and prevent psychotic disorders and will be of interest to academics and clinicians in the field. Book Cover......Page 1 Title......Page 4 Copyright......Page 5 Contents......Page 6 List of contributors......Page 10 List of figures......Page 12 List of colour plates......Page 14 List of tables......Page 16 Preface......Page 20 CHAPTER ONE Exploring intermediate phenotypes of psychosis......Page 22 CHAPTER TWO The Maudsley Family Study of Psychosis ± overview of clinical methodology and characteristics......Page 42 CHAPTER THREE Auditory evoked potentials as genetic trait markers of schizophrenia......Page 62 CHAPTER FOUR Are eye-movement abnormalities related to susceptibility genes for schizophrenia?......Page 92 CHAPTER FIVE Neuropsychological impairments in patients with schizophrenia and their unaffected relatives......Page 114 CHAPTER SIX Neurological abnormalities in patients with schizophrenia from singly- and multiply-affected families and their relatives......Page 154 CHAPTER SEVEN Structural brain deviations in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder ± to what extent are they genetically mediated?......Page 176 CHAPTER EIGHT Summary and implications......Page 226 Appendix 1......Page 238 Index......Page 242 Exploring intermediate phenotypes of psychosis / Colm McDonald, Robin Murray The Maudsley family study of psychosis: overview of clinical methodology and characteristics / Colm McDonald Auditory evoked potentials as genetic trait markers of schizophrenia / Ian Williams, Sophia Frangou, and Elvira Bramon Are eye movement abnormalities related to susceptibility genes for schizophrenia? / James MacCabe, Jolanta Zanelli Neuropsychological impairments in patients with schizophrenia and their unaffected relatives / Timothea Toulopoulou, Francesca Filbey, and Eugenia Kravariti Neurological abnormalities in patients with schizophrenia from singly and multiply affected families and their relatives / Paola Dazzan and Timothy Griffiths Structural brain deviations in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder: to what extent are they genetically mediated? / Colm McDonald Summary and implications / Colm McDonald.