acono et al. conclude by saying that
Endophenotypes Will Not Simplify Gene-Finding for Psychiatric Disorder
The promise of endophenotypes has been oversold. Even if endophenotypes are conceptually simpler than DSM (
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) diagnoses and closer to underlying biology, endophenotype genetics are not sufficiently simpler genetically to aid in gene discovery in a sample the size of the Minnesota Twin Family Study. Consequently, the same challenges that make psychiatric genetics difficult are likely to make endophenotype genetics difficult
In my opinion these results ought to prompt a fundamental rethink not just of endophenotypes but also of an idea that lurks in the background of an awful lot of neuroscience. This is the idea that some brain phenomena are more “basic” than others.
