Project Summary

Robert Andrew Chambers, M.D. (Young Investigator 2001) of Connecticut Mental Health Center, will investigate the idea that substance use disorders in schizophrenics are related to behaviors and motivations related to the neuropathology of schizophrenia, predisposing patients to drug use and addiction, rather than due to the perceived benefits of the abused drug.  He will study how alterations in hippocampal function related to schizophrenia also leads to behaviors reflecting increased vulnerability to drug abuse and addiction, and how they affect alterations in biochemical indices of dopamine and glutamate signaling in subcortical dopamine systems.  This work will increase understanding of the mechanisms of schizophrenia which disrupt motivational systems, leading to better treatments for many schizophrenia patients also suffering from addictions.

Program Area: MULTIPLE FOCUS AREAS\Schizophrenia/Substance Abuse

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