Discordant Identical Twins and the Genesis of the Psychoses

Schizophrenia and Manic-Depressive Disorder: The Biological Roots of Mental Illness as Revealed by the Landmark Study of Identical Twins (see record 1994-97174-000) reports the findings from a six-year research project on schizophrenia and bipolar disorder in 66 pairs of identical twins that was funded by the National Institute of Mental Health. continuing at present. Although the raison d'etre for most twin studies of schizophrenia was to estimate the size of the genetic contribution to this disorder, this long awaited report investigated identical twins discordant for schizophrenia as a strategy designed to control for the genetic factor and to identify other possible causal agents. This volume provides a comprehensive report of a rather remarkable study that required a great deal of time, funds, and talent for such a large undertaking. The research methodology and scientific reporting is both sophisticated and very reasonable. The information on genetic and other biological mechanisms involved in the genesis of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder should be valuable to all investigators of mental illness. Unfortunately, despite the title of this book, the biological roots of mental illness remain for future scientific disclosure. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)