Psychiatric genetics

Abstract

The development of psychiatric genetics as a scientific discipline has provided extraordinary changes in our ability to understand the causes of psychiatric illness. Yet, any research that delves into our genetic code and the fundamentals of what it is to be human is bound to be accompanied by vigorous ethical debate. This has certainly been the case for psychiatric genetics. We offer an overview of the development of the discipline and its associated controversies, and a consideration of recent advances in psychiatric genetics that continue to provide lively debate. Key ethical issues including those relating to eugenics, consent, confidentiality, commercialization and direct to consumer testing, prenatal testing, and clinical use of genetic testing are considered in the hope of ensuring that future developments are accompanied by a well-reasoned conversation that ensures that technological and scientific advances are used for patient benefit in its broadest sense.