Project Summary

Jane Foster, Ph.D. (Young Investigator 2003) of National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH/NIH), will examine the molecule class I major histo-compatibility complex (MHC), a major component of the immune system.  Class I MHC is expressed in neurons and developing brain in response to stress.  It is theorized that alterations in the way immune molecules function in the brain could contribute to the development, progression, and maintenance of psychiatric disorders, including schizophrenia and major depression.  Specifically, the project will examine the role of neuronal expression of class I MHC in physiological and molecular coping mechanisms that are activated in the brain in response to stress.  This work may provide important information on neurological immune processes that could play a role in major psychiatric disorders.

Program Area: MOOD DISORDERS\Depression (Unipolar)

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