Kremen William S, Panizzon Matthew S, Cannon Tyrone D
Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego.
Departments of Psychology and Psychiatry, Yale University.
Neuropsychology. 2016 Jan;30(1):1-5. doi: 10.1037/neu0000254.
Genetics and neuropsychology have historically been 2 rather distant and unrelated fields. With the very rapid advances that have been taking place in genetics, research and treatment of disorders of cognition in the 21st century are likely to be increasingly informed by individual differences in genetics and epigenetics. Although neuropsychologists are not expected to become geneticists, it is our view that increased training in genetics should become more central to training in neuropsychology. This relationship should not be unidirectional. Here we note ways in which an understanding of genetics and epigenetics can inform neuropsychology. On the other hand, given the complexity of cognitive phenotypes, neuropsychology can also play a valuable role in informing and refining genetic studies. Greater integration of the 2 should advance both fields.
从历史角度来看，遗传学和神经心理学一直是两个相对遥远且互不相关的领域。随着遗传学领域取得的飞速进展，21世纪认知障碍的研究与治疗可能会越来越多地受到遗传学和表观遗传学个体差异的影响。虽然并不期望神经心理学家成为遗传学家，但我们认为，增加遗传学方面的培训应在神经心理学培训中占据更核心的地位。这种关系不应是单向的。在此，我们指出了解遗传学和表观遗传学可为神经心理学提供信息的方式。另一方面，鉴于认知表型的复杂性，神经心理学在为基因研究提供信息及完善基因研究方面也能发挥重要作用。两者的进一步整合应能推动这两个领域的发展。
