Brain connectivity in psychiatric imaging genetics

In the past decade, imaging genetics has evolved into a highly successful neuroimaging discipline with a variety of sophisticated research tools. To date, several neural systems mechanisms have been identified that mediate genetic risk for mental disorders linked to common candidate and genome-wide-supported variants. In particular, the examination of intermediate connectivity phenotypes has recently gained increasing popularity. This paper gives an overview of the scientific methods and evidence that link indices of neural network organization to the genetic susceptibility for mental illness with a focus on the effects of candidate genes and genome-wide supported risk variants on brain structure and function.

► Connectivity in intermediate phenotypes of genetic risk-mental illness association. ► Risk alleles for schizophrenia continuum impact prefrontal–hippocampal connectivity. ► DTI phenotypes highlight effects of genetic variants on structural connectivity.