Department of Behavioral Neuroscience, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR 97201, USA. phillipt@ohsu.edu
Complex traits, including many disease-related traits, are influenced by multiple genes. Bivariate approaches that associate one gene with one trait are yielding to multivariate methods to synthesize the effects of multiple genes, integrate results across independent studies, and aid in the identification of coordinated pathways and interactions between loci.