Monday, September 14, 2026, 11:30 AM – 1 PM EDT

Elaine Walker – Charles Howard Candler Professor Emerita of Psychology and Neuroscience
 
“Evolving Perspectives on Schizophrenia and Other Psychotic Disorders: Genetics, the Environment and Brain Development.”
 
For decades, inherited genetic risk and environmental influences dominated conceptualizations of the etiology of psychotic disorders.   But advances in genetics and neuroscience have dramatically altered scientific perspectives on the determinants of serious mental illnesses.  These research findings have raised questions about the validity of contemporary diagnostic classification systems as well as some long-held assumptions about etiological processes.  We now know that both inherited and acquired genetic factors influence risk for psychotic disorders, and that environmental factors influence the expression of genetic risk.  Further, the human brain undergoes a protracted and complex developmental course, and these developmental processes are modulated by both genetic and environmental influences.  Brain changes that normally ensue during adolescence and young adulthood are especially relevant to serious mental illness and make these sensitive periods for the onset of psychosis. This presentation will summarize the current state of our knowledge about the etiology of psychotic disorders and highlight some recent findings that hold promise for enhancing treatment and future prevention.