Toward the Study of Trans-Disease Processes: A Novel Approach With Special Reference to the Study of Co-morbidity

Abstract

The objective of this article was to propose a novel approach, referred to as the study of trans-disease processes (TDPs), to the neuroscientific study of disease processes in general and to co-morbid diseases in particular. The features of this approach are outlined; one potential TDP—delay discounting, which may help account for the co-morbidity of cigarette smoking and schizophrenia—is explored; and the concept of TDPs is contrasted with the concept of endophenotypes. TDPs have the potential for a variety of positive impacts on science.

KEYWORDS:

• Trans-disease processes
• co-morbidity
• scale-free systems
• delay discounting
• cigarette smoking
• schizophrenia

This research was supported by National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) grants R37 DA 006526, R01 DA 024080, and R01 DA022386 and in part by the Arkansas Biosciences Institute, a partnership of scientists from Arkansas Children's Hospital, Arkansas State University, the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture, the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, and the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. The Arkansas Biosciences Institute is the major research component of the Tobacco Settlement Proceeds Act of 2000.

Notes

1. We thank Robert Chambers for providing this analogy.