Psychiatric Genetics and Genomics

Peter McGuffin, Michael J. Owen and Irving I Gottesman
Oxford University Press
2002 – 492 pages – paper

Genetics promises to provide one of the most powerful approaches to understanding the functional pathology of the human brain. This book presents a critical review of the evidence for a genetic contribution to common psychiatric conditions and the rarer single-gene disorders that may have psychiatric presentations.
The first section of the book introduces the reader to molecular biology and the techniques of molecular genetics. The coverag then moves on to consider the genetics of normal and abnormal development, followed by a look at the genetics of abnormal behavior in adults. This section includes, amongst others, consideration of personality disorders, schizophrenia and the dementias. The final section considers the applications of the work and covers issues such as counselling and ethics, closing with a look to the future.
The editors are internationally renowned figures in this field and they have invited a team of equally eminent chapter authors.
This will be essential reading for psychiatrists and geneticists and will be of interest to neurologists, psychologists and neuroscientists.