Project Summary

Rachel Helena Flomen, Ph.D. (Young Investigator 2004) of the Institute of Psychiatry/King’s College of London, points out that people with schizophrenia often show what is called abnormal P50 electrical activity in the brain, as do close relatives. Genetic and other studies have shown the P50 defect may be due to the gene CHRNA7 or a gene nearby on chromosome 15. Understanding the chromosomal region, however, is complicated by a duplication of a large part of the CHRNA7 gene nearby on the chromosome. Dr. Flomen hypothesizes the duplication might be involved in psychiatric disease. In a previous NARSAD grant, Dr. Flomen examined variations of this region in the population, but re-arrangements were difficult to detect. In this new project, Dr. Flomen proposes performing a cytogenetic study of 15 individuals with schizophrenia and 15 controls, as this is the best available method to detect rearrangements. This study represents an important first stage in investigating the possibility of rearrangement variants in psychosis.

Program Area: MULTIPLE FOCUS AREAS\Bipolar Disorder/Schizophrenia

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