Attempts to understand the genetic basis of psychiatric disorders – to untangle and concretize the family history risk factor – have never been easy. However, by incorporating empirical results, a data-driven and logical way forward has emerged, and it is likely that these efforts will continue to yield important new knowledge. Many groups are active in this area, but the PGC has emerged as the key umbrella organization for a large portion of this work. A basic description of the PGC and its core principles is given in Table 1a. Key technical aspects include its dedication to rigorous methodologies and its stance as a “mega-analysis” consortium with PGC members sharing individual-level genotype and phenotype data.
