A theme echoed repeatedly throughout the special issue articles and commentaries is the advantage of forming consortia to enhance sample size such that the small effects of the genetic signals buried in genetic noise can be identified without ballooning the rate of false positives that comes by relaxing p values. For laboratory measures, amassing large samples is challenging even when pooling across laboratories. However, consortia like ENIGMA (Enhancing Neuro Imaging through Meta-Analysis; http://enigma.ini.usc.edu/), which includes an EEG offshoot, indicate that success is possible. In addition, it should be possible to develop methods that facilitate large-scale data collection outside the laboratory using inexpensive monitors, such as physiological recording devices already in popular use by fitness enthusiasts. Smartphones permit recording photoplethysmographic data, while mobile EEG recording devices are proliferating. Brain-computer interfaces and other technologies to assist individuals with disabilities may provide useful tools for “crowd-sourcing” data collection as well.
