7:30 a.m. - 8:15 a.m. | Registration and registration

8:15 a.m. - 8:30 | Greetings and opening remarks

8:30 a.m - 9:45 a.m. | Are mental disorders genetic diseases?
The contribution of genetics to mental and neurodevelopmental disorders

Moderator: Alexis Beauchamp-Chatel, IUSMM, Université de Montréal

8:30 a.m. - 9:00 a.m. | Sébastien Jacquemont, CHU Sainte-Justine, University of Montreal
Genetics of cognition and psychopathology. Genetic diagnosis and identification of pre- and postnatal mental health risk factors.
*Presentation in French

Objectives:

At the end of this presentation, the participant will be able to:

• Identify the different types of mutations involved in neurodevelopmental and psychiatric disorders.
• Integrate into the practice the questioning of gene-environment involved in neurodevelopmental and psychiatric disorders.
• Decide which genetic tests to prescribe depending on the psychopathology and the family context.

9:00 a.m. - 9:15 a.m. | Lived experience

9:15 a.m. - 9:45 a.m. | Brett Trost, Sick Kids, University of Toronto
Genetics of autism

Objectives:

At the end of this presentation, the participant will be able to:

• Explain the genetic causes of autism and the diagnostic yield of molecular tests.
• Decide which genetic tests to prescribe depending on the clinical characteristics of an autistic patient.
• Assessing the clinical application of polygenic autism scores.

9:45 a.m. - 10:15 a.m. | Discussion and knowledge assessments

10:15 a.m. - 10:35 a.m. | Break

10:35 a.m. - 12:20 p.m. | A better understanding of the mechanisms involved in psychiatric disorders and the boundaries between diagnoses

Moderator: Sébastien Jacquemont, CHU Sainte-Justine, University of Montreal

10:35 a.m. - 11:05 a.m. | Michael Gandal, Department of Psychiatry University of Pennsylvania
What does gene expression in the brain tell us about the boundaries between mental disorders?

Objectives:

At the end of this presentation, the participant will be able to:

• Discuss how the pleiotropy of biological factors influences psychiatric comorbidities.
• Summarize the contribution of transcriptomics on brain tissue to the understanding of psychiatric illnesses.
• Question, in the light of the notions of biological relationships between phenotypes, the practice of differential diagnosis in psychiatry.

11:05 a.m. - 11:20 a.m. | Lived experience

11:20 a.m. - 11:50 a.m. | Elliott Rees, Département de Neurosciences clinique, Cardiff University, UK
Genetics: a bridge between schizophrenia and autism?

Objectives:

At the end of this presentation, the participant will be able to:

• Explain the genetic causes of schizophrenia and the diagnostic yield of molecular tests.
• Based on the clinical characteristics of a patient with schizophrenia, decide which genetic tests to prescribe.
• When a mutation is discovered in the prenatal or neonatal period, evaluate the diagnostic probability of schizophrenia.

11:50 a.m. - 12:20 a.m. | Discussion and knowledge assessments

12:20 p.m. - 1:15 p.m. | Lunch break

1:15 p.m. - 2:45 p.m. | From symptomatic treatment to precision medicine: how will genetics change the practice?

Moderator: Baudoin Forgeot d'Arc, CHU Ste-Justine, Université de Montréal

1:15 p.m. - 1:30 p.m. | Lived experience

1:30 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. | Jacob Vorstman, Sick Kids, Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto
Precision medicine: the predictive power of rare and common variants

Objectives:

At the end of this presentation, the participant will be able to:

• Assess the combined predictive power of different mutation types on mental disorders by integrating their respective contributions.
• Propose the intervention according to the clinical situation in children carrying mutations at high risk of mental disorders.
• Deciding on orientation in child psychiatry in carriers of mutations.

2:00 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. | Jai Shah, Douglas Institute, McGill, Montreal, Canadian program ACCESS
Risk, early course interventions and management for young people at risk of developing a severe mental illness

Objectives :

At the end of this presentation, the participant will be able to:

• Lessons learned from the “close-in” at-risk paradigm for individuals at clinical high risk for psychosis.
• Evidence-based strategies for identifying, monitoring and intervening with individuals at high risk of psychiatric conditions.
• Deciding on referral to psychiatry in young adults with an increased risk of mental disorders.

2:30 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. | Discussion and knowledge assessments

3:00 p.m. - 3:15 p.m. | Coffee Break

3:15 p.m. - 3:45 p.m. | Anne Bassett, Center for Addiction and Mental Health, University of Toronto
Psychiatric management of people with a 22q11.2 deletion or another variant with a strong predisposition to psychiatric disorders (22q11 treatment)

Objectives :

At the end of this presentation, the participant will be able to:

• Manage adult patients with 22q11.2 microdeletion.
• Integrate into anticipatory care the risk of, and early identification of, treatable psychotic illness related to the 22q11.2 microdeletion.
• Promises and challenges of identifying high-risk individuals before psychotic symptom onset.

3:45 pm - 4:00 pm: Jean-François Soucy, Le réseau Québécois de Diagnostic Moléculaire.
A genome for all developmental disorders?
*Prensatation in French

Objectives :

At the end of this presentation, the participant will be able to:

• Summarize the criteria for prescribing exome in Quebec.
• In the context of clinical practice in Quebec, integrate the prescription of the exome.

4:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. | Round table
Clinical vignettes and knowledge evaluation

Moderator: Amal Abdel-Baki, CHUM, Université de Montréal

The following companies granted this activity for educational purpose:

• Prevention genetics
• Transforming Autism Care Consortium