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as quoted earlier) as ‘a system of education A minor criticism is that the style and in which the pupil is trained to find out degree of specialisation of chapters are things for himself’. How apposite as a variable; consequently it will be easier to recommendation to read this book! An use the book for reference to individual aphorism of the late Professor Eric By- topics rather than to read it sequentially as waters, doyen of rheumatologists, is that an overview. Undoubtedly, it would be an one consults textbooks to find out the excellent addition to any psychiatric li- things that no one knows. brary. Consistent with the title, the cover- age of the main psychiatric disorders is A. M. Denman Emeritus Clinical Immunologist, relatively limited, and readers mainly inter- Northwick Park Hospital, Harrow, Middlesex ested in psychiatric will find more HA1 3UJ, UK extensive coverage and focus on disorders in and (McGuffin(McGuffin et aletal, 2002).,2002).

McGuffin, P., Owen, M. J. & Gottesman, I. I. (eds) Behavioral Genetics (2002)(2002) Psychiatric Genetics and Genomics.Oxford:.Oxford: in the Postgenomic Era Oxford University Press. Edited by ,Plomin,John John C. DeFries, Ian W.Craig & Peter McGuffin. Nick Craddock Professor of and Washington, DC: American Psychological Honorary Consultant Psychiatrist, Department of Association. 2003. 608 pp.US$49.95 that code for for which the expression Psychological Medicine, Neuropsychiatric Genetics (members), $59.95 (non-members) (hb). profile and protein product are known and Unit,Unit,1st 1st Floor,Floor,Tenovus Tenovus Building,Building,University University of Wales ISBN1 55798 926 5 characterised). This will make the coming CollegeCollegeofMedicine,CardiffCF144XN,UK of Medicine,Cardiff CF14 4XN,UK years an exciting time for all researchers The closing years of the 20th century saw and clinicians interested in psychiatric and molecular genetic approaches prove suc- behavioural disorders, because application cessful in identifying genes involved in a of this knowledge will lead to the identifi- large number of rare disorders and traits cation of genes and environmental factors Pharmacogenetics of Psychotropic that show a simple, Mendelian pattern of influencing these traits. DrugsDrugs . In the opening years of the new The publication of Behavioral Genetics Edited by Bernard Lerer.Cambridge: millennium human are applying in the Postgenomic Era is therefore timely. Cambridge University Press. 2002. 446 pp. the powerful approaches and knowledge This nicely presented, edited volume arose »95 (hb).ISBN0(hb). ISBN 0 521806178521 80617 8 emanating from the human project from a meeting coordinated by the Well- to tackle the more challenging problem of come Trust: the authors include many of Students and teachers of psychopharma- genetically disorders and traits – the leading clinical and basic scientists cology have a sense that the most difficult common (or universal) characteristics that within the field of behavioural genetics, topic to teach and to remember is that of show substantial variation within human and its scope appropriately represents pharmacokinetics. Since many aspects of populations, and that do not have a simple current within this area. According pharmacokinetics are ggeneticallyenetically deter- pattern of inheritance; these are disorders to the flyleaf, this book sets itself the goal of mined, I approached this book with hope and traits that are likely to follow some assessing the current status and likely future of enlightenment. New discoveries and form of multifactorial model in which a directions in genetic research on behaviour. techniques in should combination of susceptibility genes and This goal is met within its 600 pages, and a eventually cast light on such questions as environmental factors act and interact to broad range of theoretical and trait-specific why individual patients respond (or do determine the expression of the trait. Most topics are covered. The book focuses on not respond) to , and why some clinical psychiatrists will immediately re- behavioural traits rather than on psychi- experience more side-effects than others. cognise that many psychiatric disorders fall atric disorders. It is arranged in 26 chap- The editor’s introduction gives a com- into this category; furthermore, so do most ters, divided into nine sections. The first six pelling account of the potential importance normal behavioural traits (including gen- chapters provide orientation and theoretical of pharmacogenetics, but also sounds an eral and specific cognitive abilities and background information regarding molecu- ominous note of caution about the com- variables). As the media fre- lar, statistical and design aspects relevant to plexity of the subject. More than a million quently remind us, the human genome behavioural genetics. This is followed by single- polymorphisms have been project continues to deliver increasingly sections on and memory in mice, discovered that might be relevant. Many of powerful resources and tools that can be human cognitive abilities, cognitive disabil- the claimed associations of allelic variations used to investigate such disorders – includ- ities, , personality, with responses have failed attempts at ing a working draft of the sequence of DNA and a limited coverage of psychopathologic replication. Psychopharmacology is likely in the human genome, detailed catalogues topics – chapters on attention-deficit hy- to be more difficult than other branches of of the common variants in the DNA peractivity disorder, , mood therapeutics to disentangle through mole- sequence and increasing numbers of anno- disorders and dementia. A helpful glossary cular genetics because of the difficulty in tated genes (i.e. identified DNA sequences is included for the non-specialist. identifying drug responders from placebo

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