Reviewing the epigenetics of schizophrenia

Background: Epigenetic research in mental health has grown exponentially during the last decade and holds what some claim are “revolutionary” potentials for the development of new interdisciplinary models of mental ill health. Schizophrenia is the most appropriate diagnosis against which to assess p...

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Main Authors: Cromby, John, Chung, Emma, Papadopoulos, Dimitris, Talbot, Chris
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Taylor & Francis 2016
Online Access:https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/55106/
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author Cromby, John
Chung, Emma
Papadopoulos, Dimitris
Talbot, Chris
author_facet Cromby, John
Chung, Emma
Papadopoulos, Dimitris
Talbot, Chris
author_sort Cromby, John
building Nottingham Research Data Repository
collection Online Access
description Background: Epigenetic research in mental health has grown exponentially during the last decade and holds what some claim are “revolutionary” potentials for the development of new interdisciplinary models of mental ill health. Schizophrenia is the most appropriate diagnosis against which to assess progress in this regard. Method: Papers on epigenetics and schizophrenia identified in a systematic literature search are subject to a conceptually-driven narrative review that assesses the relations between schizophrenia and epigenetics; considers some issues associated with empirical studies; and thereby identifies key assumptions guiding this research. Findings: The revolutionary potentials of epigenetics are thus far not being realised due to various influences, including a preponderance of hypotheses that begin from a primarily biological question; the “condensation” of environmental influences and their effective reduction to their molecular consequences; and a frequent reliance upon animal studies that effectively preclude some important influences already established as relevant to this diagnosis. Conclusion: Epigenetic research in schizophrenia (and mental health generally) could benefit from being more thoroughly interdisciplinary, from testing hypotheses that foreground social as well as biological influences, and from reconsidering its reliance upon psychiatric diagnoses.
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spelling nottingham-551062018-09-25T10:27:51Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/55106/ Reviewing the epigenetics of schizophrenia Cromby, John Chung, Emma Papadopoulos, Dimitris Talbot, Chris Background: Epigenetic research in mental health has grown exponentially during the last decade and holds what some claim are “revolutionary” potentials for the development of new interdisciplinary models of mental ill health. Schizophrenia is the most appropriate diagnosis against which to assess progress in this regard. Method: Papers on epigenetics and schizophrenia identified in a systematic literature search are subject to a conceptually-driven narrative review that assesses the relations between schizophrenia and epigenetics; considers some issues associated with empirical studies; and thereby identifies key assumptions guiding this research. Findings: The revolutionary potentials of epigenetics are thus far not being realised due to various influences, including a preponderance of hypotheses that begin from a primarily biological question; the “condensation” of environmental influences and their effective reduction to their molecular consequences; and a frequent reliance upon animal studies that effectively preclude some important influences already established as relevant to this diagnosis. Conclusion: Epigenetic research in schizophrenia (and mental health generally) could benefit from being more thoroughly interdisciplinary, from testing hypotheses that foreground social as well as biological influences, and from reconsidering its reliance upon psychiatric diagnoses. Taylor & Francis 2016-08-25 Article PeerReviewed application/pdf en https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/55106/1/Reviewing%20the%20Epigenetics%20of%20Schizophrenia-JofMentalHealth-AAM-OpenAccess.pdf Cromby, John, Chung, Emma, Papadopoulos, Dimitris and Talbot, Chris (2016) Reviewing the epigenetics of schizophrenia. Journal of Mental Health . pp. 1-9. ISSN 1360-0567 https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09638237.2016.1207229 doi:10.1080/09638237.2016.1207229 doi:10.1080/09638237.2016.1207229
spellingShingle Cromby, John
Chung, Emma
Papadopoulos, Dimitris
Talbot, Chris
Reviewing the epigenetics of schizophrenia
title Reviewing the epigenetics of schizophrenia
title_full Reviewing the epigenetics of schizophrenia
title_fullStr Reviewing the epigenetics of schizophrenia
title_full_unstemmed Reviewing the epigenetics of schizophrenia
title_short Reviewing the epigenetics of schizophrenia
title_sort reviewing the epigenetics of schizophrenia
url https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/55106/
https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/55106/
https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/55106/