Sheena Owens

TL;DR: A genome-wide analysis of DNA methylation on peripheral blood DNA samples obtained from a unique sample of MZ twin pairs discordant for major psychosis provides further evidence to support a role forDNA methylation differences in mediating phenotypic differences between MZ twins and in the etiology of both SZ and BD.

TL;DR: Striatal dopamine synthesis capacity is not elevated in symptom-free individuals at genetic risk of schizophrenia, or in well-treated stable patients with chronic schizophrenia, suggesting that striatal hyperdopaminergia is not a vulnerability marker for schizophrenia.

TL;DR: The prefrontal cortex shows a heterogeneous pattern of genetic influences on volumetric reductions in schizophrenia, and is determined to be dependent on genetic vulnerability for the condition.

TL;DR: Verbal memory and visual learning and memory are moderately heritable, share a genetic overlap with schizophrenia and are valid endophenotypes for the condition.

TL;DR: The data suggest that mental flexibility is a purer cognitive process sharing very little common variance with general intellectual functioning, and the inclusion of this mental flexibility phenotype in linkage or association analysis should improve the power to detect susceptibility genes for schizophrenia.