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Intellectual asymmetry and genetic liability in first-degree relatives of probands with schizophrenia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Eugenia Kravariti ,
Timothea Toulopoulou ,
Francesca Mapua-Filbey ,
Katja Schulze ,
Muriel Walshe ,
Pak Sham ,
Robin M. Murray  and
Colm McDonald
Eugenia Kravariti*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry Division of Psychological Medicine, Section of General Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, UK
Timothea Toulopoulou
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry Division of Psychological Medicine, Section of General Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, UK
Francesca Mapua-Filbey
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry Division of Psychological Medicine, Section of General Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, UK
Katja Schulze
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry Division of Psychological Medicine, Section of General Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, UK
Muriel Walshe
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry Division of Psychological Medicine, Section of General Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, UK
Pak Sham
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry Division of Psychological Medicine, Section of General Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, UK
Robin M. Murray
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry Division of Psychological Medicine, Section of General Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, UK
Colm McDonald
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry Division of Psychological Medicine, Section of General Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, UK
*
Dr Eugenia Kravariti, Institute of Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, Division of Psychological Medicine, Box 63, De Crespigny Park, London SE5 8AF, UK. Tel: +44 20 7848 0331, fax: +44 20 7701 9041, e-mail: [email protected]
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Summary

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Intellectual asymmetry with superiority of verbal skills to spatial skills frequently characterises patients with schizophrenia, but it is unclear whether this pattern also reflects genetic susceptibility to the disorder. We examined the association of a continuous measure of genetic liability to schizophrenia with Verbal-Spatial Contrast IQ (an index of intellectual asymmetry) in 108 first-degree relatives without psychosis of probands with schizophrenia. Higher genetic liability was significantly associated with greater intellectual asymmetry in favour of verbal skills. Intellectual asymmetry with a relative superiority of verbal skills to spatial skills represents a putative endophenotype of schizophrenia.

Type
Short Reports
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 188 , Issue 2 , February 2006 , pp. 186 - 187
Copyright
Copyright © 2006 The Royal College of Psychiatrists 

Footnotes

Declaration of Interest

None. Funding detailed in Acknowledgements.

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