We observed pronounced immune related processes for degenerative disorders in contrast to psychiatric disorders. In support of this finding, multiple aspects of glial development were also associated with brain disorders, with stronger enrichment in degenerative disorders (Table 1). Moreover, all degenerative disorders showed associations with genes involved in myelination and oligodendrocyte function, suggesting a potential role of oligodendrocytes in neurodegeneration. In line with this, single cell transcriptomic profiles in AD postmortem brains suggested altered molecular profiles in oligodendrocytes24. Together with heritability enrichment, this finding of enriched immune response in degenerative, but less so in psychiatric disorders hints a possible explanation for genetic distinctions between psychiatric and degenerative disorders25.
