The Psychiatric Genomics Consortium: discoveries and directions

Research by the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium (PGC) has advanced the discovery of common and rare genetic variations that contribute to the susceptibility to many psychiatric disorders and neurodevelopmental conditions. This Review reflects on major findings from the past 5 years of research by the PGC in five priority areas: discovery of common variants using genome-wide association studies; rare variation and its interplay with polygenic risk; using genetics to go beyond diagnostic boundaries; ascribing functional attributes to genomic discoveries; and developing and implementing processes for data sharing, outreach to various communities, and training. The insights gained in these domains frame the agenda for the next phase of PGC research. In addition to accelerating integrative findings of common and rare variants within, and across, multiple psychiatric disorders and neurodevelopmental conditions, the next phase will use multiple populations to elucidate genetic causes, integrate results with rapidly accumulating multimodal functional genomics data to gain mechanistic understanding, convert genetic findings to clinically actionable phenotypes, such as treatment response, and address the emerging use of polygenic scores. Together, these next steps will highlight the biological underpinnings of psychiatric disorders and neurodevelopmental conditions, which continue to contribute to global morbidity and mortality.