Postmortem brains of those with schizophrenia have fewer genes associated with 12-hour activity cycles in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. Mitochondrial-related genes in the dlPFC did maintain a 12-hour rhythm, but their activity did not peak at normal times.
Investigating four pre-existing, publically available psychological and neurological data sets, researchers identify a network of brain areas that underlie psychiatric disorders including depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia.
Advanced brain aging may explain why, on average, people with schizophrenia have a significantly reduced life span.
By inhibiting NMDA receptors, ketamine increases noise to gamma frequencies in one layer of the thalamic nucleus and one lay of the somatosensory cortex. Findings suggest psychosis may be triggered by an increase in background noise impairing thalamocortical neurons which may be caused by a malfunction in NMDA receptors affecting the balance of inhibition and excitation in the brain.
Researchers identified 20 drug candidates that reduce C4 immune protein secretion from astrocytes. The discovery could pave the way to treating schizophrenia and other disorders associated with C4 dysregulation in astrocytes.
1% of patients registered in a health initiative carry at least one rare gene variant linked to an increased risk of a neuropsychiatric disorder such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. One third of those with a variant had been diagnosed with a mental health disorder.
People with schizophrenia have significantly higher rates of tandem repeats in their genome, up to 7% more than in people without the mental health disorder. The genes were primarily found in genes crucial to brain function.
47% of patients with a mental health disorder receive a different diagnosis within the first ten years of receiving their initial diagnosis.
Study reveals the benefits of family involvement in treatment outcomes for those who suffer from psychosis.
Pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-1 beta and IL-6 stimulate the expression of the schizophrenia-related C4A gene. Patients with high C4A expression displayed increased levels of IL-1 beta in cerebral spinal fluid samples. C4A levels were also correlated with markers of synaptic density. Findings reveal inflammation enhances the genetic risk variant for schizophrenia.
People with schizophrenia and social anhedonia exhibit altered neural processing for social reward processing, leading to impaired social interaction and social dysfunction.
Study reveals a "hotspot" for schizophrenia in the upper prefrontal cortex of the brain. In this area, researchers identified distinct neural networks that may be responsible for the overall symptoms of schizophrenia.