TY - JOUR T1 - Genetic risk for autism spectrum disorders and neuropsychiatric variation in the general population JF - bioRxiv DO - 10.1101/027771 SP - 027771 AU - Elise B. Robinson AU - Beate St. Pourcain AU - Verneri Anttila AU - Jack Kosmicki AU - Brendan Bulik-Sullivan AU - Jakob Grove AU - Julian Maller AU - Kaitlin E. Samocha AU - Stephan Sanders AU - Stephan Ripke AU - Joanna Martin AU - Mads V. Hollegaard AU - Thomas Werge AU - David M. Hougaard AU - iPSYCH-SSI-Broad Autism Group AU - Benjamin M. Neale AU - David M. Evans AU - David Skuse AU - Preben Bo Mortensen AU - Anders D. Børglum AU - Angelica Ronald AU - George Davey Smith AU - Mark J. Daly Y1 - 2015/01/01 UR - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2015/09/29/027771.1.abstract N2 - Almost all genetic risk factors for autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) can be found in the general population, but the effects of that risk are unclear in people not ascertained for neuropsychiatric symptoms. Using several large ASD consortia and population based resources, we find genetic links between ASDs and typical variation in social behavior and adaptive functioning. This finding is evidenced through both inherited and de novo variation, indicating that multiple types of genetic risk for ASDs influence a continuum of behavioral and developmental traits, the severe tail of which can result in an ASD or other neuropsychiatric disorder diagnosis. A continuum model should inform the design and interpretation of studies of neuropsychiatric disease biology. ER -