Introduction to epigenetics in psychiatry

This introductory chapter provides a brief review of the current state of genetics research on psychiatric disorders. It reports on the progress that has been accomplished in the last few years which has led to the identification of new genes and genetic variants for many disorders, with schizophrenia being in the lead. It describes the different approaches that have been used and often points out how the genetics can predict an important role for epigenetics. This is followed by a quick overview of evidence for the importance of epigenetics in psychiatric disease and the links with many epigenetically relevant environmental factors. Finally, after a comparison highlighting similarities and differences between epigenetic and genetic approaches, the chapter provides some insights into moving psychiatric epigenetic research forward.