Project Summary

Wendy R. Kates, Ph.D. (Independent Investigator 2005) of State University of New York, Upstate Medical University, plans to use functional magnetic imaging (fMRI) to study the relationship between genetics, gender and emotional processing in velocardiofacial syndrome (VCFS), a condition that leads to schizophrenia in a quarter of carriers. It remains unknown why VCFS patients are at increased risk for schizophrenia but it may be partially due to one or more of the genes deleted on one copy of the chromosome 22 in these individuals. One gene in this region possibly linked to schizophrenia susceptibility is the catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) gene, which breaks down the neurotransmitter dopamine. Researchers have shown this gene varies between individuals. Dr. Kates currently is following a large sample of children and adolescents with VCFS, their siblings, and community controls, to identify risk factors for psychiatric deterioration that may presage onset of schizophrenia. Preliminary data indicate that in the youth with VCFS, COMT gene variation is associated with the size of the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) alone and in relation to the amygdala, and boys are affected differently than girls. In the proposed study, she will correlate gene variation, gender and fMRI evaluations of emotional face recognition and affective perception.

Program Area: SCHIZOPHRENIA/PSYCHOTIC DISORDERS\Schizophrenia

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