Project Summary

Idil Cavus, M.D., Ph.D. (Young Investigator 2002) of Connecticut Mental Health Center, will test the hypothesis that nicotine, the main psychoactive ingredient in tobacco, can improve attention and memory function in patients with schizophrenia by stimulating the release of neurotransmitters, glutamate and GABA, within the hippocampus.  Until recently, this was impossible to test in humans; however, through a unique collaboration between the Departments of Psychiatry and Neurosurgery at Yale University, Dr. Cavus will simultaneously record the electrical activity and release of neurotransmitters within the hippocampus as patients who are undergoing evaluation for epilepsy are awake and can perform cognitive tasks.  He will study the effect of nicotine administration on the memory-related release of glutamate and GABA in the hippocampus, and will relate the effects to changes in hippocampal activation patterns (theta and gamma) and memory performance.  This study may help to identify mechanisms through which nicotine might be helpful for hippocampal dysfunction in schizophrenic patients.

Program Area: SCHIZOPHRENIA/PSYCHOTIC DISORDERS\Schizophrenia\Nicotine

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