RNA interference for studying the molecular basis of neuropsychiatric disorders

RNA interference (RNAi) is a universal and evolutionarily conserved phenomenon of post-transcriptional gene silencing by sequence-specific mRNA degradation, which is triggered by short double-stranded RNA. This mechanism can be efficiently induced both in vitro and in vivo by expressing target-complementary short hairpin RNA (shRNA) from non-viral and viral vectors, or by the application of short interfering RNA (siRNA). The design of highly selective and efficacious siRNA and shRNA has become commonplace, owing to continuous progress in modeling, bioinformatics and chemistry. Thus, RNAi is attractive for use in functional genomics, target and pathway validation and, potentially, human therapeutics. This review highlights recent findings in the field of RNAi with emphasis on neuropsychiatric aspects.