The Interaction of Rare and Common Genetic Variation in Psychiatric Disorders

Scientists have long recognized that multiple risk factors may contribute to the development of psychiatric disorders, including both genetic and environmental risk factors. Common genetic variation - variants shared among many individuals in a population - has been found to play an essential role in liability for most psychiatric disorders, including autism spectrum disorder, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and Tourette Syndrome. In addition, growing evidence implicates the role of rare variants in risk for psychiatric disorders. For example, studies have shown that rare and de novo variants confer substantial risk of autism and many related developmental and neuropsychiatric disorders. However, research on the impact on psychiatric risk due to the interaction of common and rare genetic variation remains sparse.

This knowledge can be translated into a deeper etiological understanding of psychiatric disorder subtypes and, in the future, better disorder predictors and treatment. We call for manuscripts of all types that examine joint contributions of rare and common variation to liability for psychiatric disorders:

• How rare and common genetic variation jointly affect liability for psychiatric disorder(s)

• How the interaction of rare and common genetic variation affects liability for psychiatric disorders

• Sex-specific effect of interaction between common and rare genetic variation

• Sex-specific effect for the joint contribution of common and rare genetic variation

• Differential impact of interaction of rare and common genetic variation on disorders

• Differential impact of interaction of rare and common genetic variation on symptom dimensions

• Differential impact of interaction of rare and common genetic variation on transdiagnostic symptoms

• Interactions between common and rare genetic variation and the environment

• Other related studies

Keywords: psychiatric disorder, genetic variation

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