Genetic epidemiology and insights into interactive genetic and environmental effects in autism spectrum disorders.

ABSTRACT: Understanding the pathogenesis of neurodevelopmental disorders has proven to be challenging. Using autism spectrum disorder (ASD) as a paradigmatic neurodevelopmental disorder, this article reviews the existing literature on the etiological substrates of ASD and explores how genetic epidemiology approaches including gene-environment interactions (G×E) can play a role in identifying factors associated with ASD etiology. New genetic and bioinformatics strategies have yielded important clues to ASD genetic substrates. The next steps for understanding ASD pathogenesis require significant effort to focus on how genes and environment interact with one another in typical development and its perturbations. Along with larger sample sizes, future study designs should include sample ascertainment tha

SUBMITTER: Kim YS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4260177 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature