Ethical Issues in Genetic Linkage Studies of Psychiatric Disorders

Abstract

Recent advances in molecular genetics have radically altered the prospects for determining the role of heredity in the transmission of major psychiatric disorders. Identification of the actual gene(s) involved, elucidation of their structure, and determination of their products are the steps which theoretically follow successful demonstration of linkage (Gurling, 1985; Baron & Rainer, 1988). Consideration of the ethical issues raised by genetic linkage studies is therefore now of paramount importance. This article focuses on the problems raised by the research process, and not on the ethical implications of the results eventually obtained.