Project Summary

Jeffrey D. Erickson, Ph.D. (Independent Investigator 2005) of Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, plans to study in rats the role that two transporters, VGLUT1 and VGLUT2, for the neurotransmitter glutamate may be playing in the formation of the brains of schizophrenics. Alterations in glutamatergic and GABAergic synaptic circuitry may exist in the prefrontal lobe (PFL) of patients with schizophrenia that may be due to activity-dependent changes that occur during 'critical' periods in development. Dr. Erickson’s laboratory recently has shown in differentiated rat primary cortical cultures that neuronal activity regulates the expression level of VGLUT1 and VGLUT2, the major vesicular transporters for glutamate and for GABA (VIAAT). But the role for multiple isoforms of VGLUT in excitatory neurons in the brain is unknown. Findings should help clarify the roles of the proteins in brain circuitry and homeostasis.

Program Area: SCHIZOPHRENIA/PSYCHOTIC DISORDERS\Schizophrenia

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