Behavior Genetics of Psychopathology

As a dynamic, interdisciplinary field, behavior genetics and its evolution are being followed closely by scientists across the psychological and medical domains. The discoveries surrounding the human genome and the advancement in molecular genetic technologies have led to studies becoming increasingly sophisticated and yielding yet more conclusive and useful results. This is certainly the case in the area of child and adult psychopathology.

Behavior Genetics of Psychopathology summarizes the state of the field, examining

the role of genes and environment as they affect common neurodevelopmental and psychiatric conditions. Emphasizing key research areas (comorbidities, twin studies, the integration of methods), the book assesses the current literature, offers up-to-date findings, sorts through lingering controversies, and identifies a clear future agenda for the field. Expertly-written chapters focus on issues of both general salience that shape behavior genetics of psychopathology, to specific disorders of major clinical importance, among them:

• ADHD: the view from quantitative genetic research.
• Autism spectrum disorders and their complex heterogeneity
• Genetic influences on anxiety and depression in childhood and adolescence.
• Evidence for etiologically-defined subgroups within the construct of antisocial behavior.
• Sleep and psychopathology: the reasons for their co-occurrence.
• Behavioral genetic approaches to the etiology of comorbidity.
• Epigenetics of psychopathology.

This combination of timeliness and depth of coverage make Behavior Genetics of Psychopathology a frontline resource for behavior geneticists, psychologists, psychiatrists, and neuroscientists, and is perfectly suited to graduate students looking to join these fields.

Soo Hyun Rhee, PhD is as associate professor in the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience and faculty fellow at the Institute for Behavioral Genetics at the University of Colorado-Boulder. She is currently working on a study examining a developmental model of conduct disorder in a longitudinal, genetically informative sample focusing on negative emotionality, daring, and lack of prosociality as early precursors of conduct problems. Angelina Ronald, PhD is a lecturer at the Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development in the Department of Psychological Sciences at Birkbeck, University of London. She is known for her behavior genetics research on developmental psychopathology. Dr. Ronald is a collaborator on several large twin studies and is also a scientific affiliate of the British Autism Study of Infant Siblings (BASIS).