VULNERABILITY TO DEPRESSION--GENETIC EPIDEMIOLOGY

此申请是对有指导的研究科学家的请求 发展奖以培养进行遗传研究所需的技能 儿童和青春期抑郁症的流行病学研究。 尽管基因研究的最新进展有望为 确定与遗传标记潜在相关的遗传标记 有效的障碍，这些技术的成功应用将 依靠清晰有效的表型定义，这反映了 遗传脆弱性。这项提案旨在提供 申请人具备进行信息性遗传研究的必要技能 旨在识别抑郁症的流行病学研究 同质亚型的。指导性假设是一个关键的 潜在同质性亚型的指标是抑郁症 成年期前的首次发病--最近的家族遗传学研究表明 学习。这一假设将通过对 关注抑郁青年兄弟姐妹的家庭研究/高风险设计 作为一名见多识广的家庭成员，年龄和年龄相匹配。在这个范围内 在这一框架下，设计了一项试验性研究，以解决两个目标：(1) 确定纵向高危同胞研究的可行性；以及 (2)明确表型指标的诊断界限 家庭易患抑郁症。结合这项研究 目标，将追求两个主要的培训目标：(1)在 对儿童和儿童的抑郁和相关精神病理学的评估 青少年；(2)新生物统计学应用方面的培训 用于帮助明确基因诊断界限的技术 学习。研究和培训的总体目的是获得 检查基因和基因之间的交易的必备技能 抑郁症特有的环境风险因素及其相互作用 在敏感的发育期，因为这样的焦点最终可能 对未来的预防工作有影响。

This application is a request for a Mentored Research Scientist Developmental Award to develop necessary skills to conduct genetic epidemiological studies of depression in childhood and adolescence. Although recent advances in genetic research hold promise for the identification of genetic markers of potential relevance to the effective disorders, the successful application of such techniques will depend on clear and valid definitions of the phenotype which reflects genetic vulnerability. This proposal is designed to provide the applicant with necessary skills to conduct informative genetic epidemiological studies of depression geared toward the identification of homogeneous subtypes. The guiding hypothesis is that a critical indicator of a potentially homogeneous subtype is depression with an initial onset prior to adulthood, as suggested by recent family-genetic studies. This hypothesis will be tested through a refinement of the family study/high risk design by focusing on siblings of depressed youth as an informative family member matched for age and cohort. Within this framework, a pilot study has been designed to address two aims: (1) to determine the feasibility of longitudinal high-risk sibling studies; and (2) to sharpen diagnostic boundaries of phenotypic indicators of familial vulnerability for depression. In conjunction with the research goals, two primary training goals will be pursued: (1) training in the evaluation of depression, and related psychopathology, in children and adolescents; (2) training in the application of novel biostatistical techniques used to help sharpen diagnostic boundaries for genetic studies. The overall purpose of research and training is to acquire requisite skills to examine transactions between genetic and environmental risk factors specific to depression, and their interplay during sensitive developmental periods, as such a focus may eventually carry implications for future preventative efforts.