The impact of schizophrenia genome wide association study genes on functional connectivity : a functional magnetic resonance imaging study

Abstract

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified several genetic variants associated with increased schizophrenia risk. However, the specific mechanisms by which these variants increase risk are not fully understood. Altered communication between brain regions, described as functional dysconnectivity, has been consistently observed in schizophrenia patients relative to healthy controls, suggesting that risk variants may exert some of their effects on this phenotype. This thesis aims to characterise the effects of schizophrenia GWAS risk variants on functional connectivity in healthy volunteers, using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).