Project Summary

Paul J. Harrison, D.M., FRCPsych (Independent Investigator 2004) of University of Oxford, using state-of-the-art molecular and cellular dissection methods aims to study the role in schizophrenia of certain neurons in two different regions of the hippocampus, CA1 and CA4, both of which have been implicated in the disease. He will collect neurons, called pyramidal neurons, from post-mortem brains of schizophrenic and healthy people, from the two regions, and compare their genetic profiles. He plans on analyzing whether the genetic fingerprint of the neurons in these regions will be different in healthy and schizophrenic individuals and whether susceptibility genes for schizophrenia are expressed more highly in CA4 than CAl, providing a potential genetic reason for their differential involvement. Such studies provide a better understanding of the pathophysiology of schizophrenia and may offer potential new targets for drug treatment.

Program Area: SCHIZOPHRENIA/PSYCHOTIC DISORDERS\Schizophrenia

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