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Heritability and familiality of neurological soft signs: evidence from healthy twins, patients with schizophrenia and non-psychotic first-degree relatives

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 September 2015

T. Xu
Affiliation:
Neuropsychology and Applied Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, People's Republic of China
Y. Wang
Affiliation:
Neuropsychology and Applied Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, People's Republic of China
Z. Li
Affiliation:
Neuropsychology and Applied Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, People's Republic of China The University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, People's Republic of China
J. Huang
Affiliation:
Neuropsychology and Applied Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, People's Republic of China
S. S. Y. Lui
Affiliation:
Neuropsychology and Applied Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, People's Republic of China Castle Peak Hospital, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, People's Republic of China
S.-P. Tan
Affiliation:
Beijing Huilongguan Hospital, Beijing, People's Republic of China
X. Yu
Affiliation:
Peking University Sixth Hospital, Beijing, People's Republic of China Peking University of Mental Health, Beijing, People's Republic of China Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Ministry of Health (Peking University), Beijing, People's Republic of China
E. F. C. Cheung
Affiliation:
Castle Peak Hospital, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, People's Republic of China
M.-G. He
Affiliation:
State Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China Centre for Eye Research Australia, University of Melbourne, Australia
J. Ott
Affiliation:
Statistical Genetics Laboratory, Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, People's Republic of China
R. E. Gur
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, and the Philadelphia Veterans Administration Medical Center, Philadelphia, PA, USA
R. C. Gur
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, and the Philadelphia Veterans Administration Medical Center, Philadelphia, PA, USA
R. C. K. Chan*
Affiliation:
Neuropsychology and Applied Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, People's Republic of China
*
*Address for correspondence: R. C. K. Chan, Neuropsychology and Applied Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 16 Lincui Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100101, People's Republic of China. (Email: rckchan@psych.ac.cn)

Abstract

Background.

Neurological soft signs (NSS) have long been considered potential endophenotypes for schizophrenia. However, few studies have investigated the heritability and familiality of NSS. The present study examined the heritability and familiality of NSS in healthy twins and patient–relative pairs.

Method.

The abridged version of the Cambridge Neurological Inventory was administered to 267 pairs of monozygotic twins, 124 pairs of dizygotic twins, and 75 pairs of patients with schizophrenia and their non-psychotic first-degree relatives.

Results.

NSS were found to have moderate but significant heritability in the healthy twin sample. Moreover, patients with schizophrenia correlated closely with their first-degree relatives on NSS.

Conclusions.

Taken together, the findings provide evidence on the heritability and familiality of NSS in the Han Chinese population.

Type
Original Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2015 

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