Project Summary

Ganeshwaran H. Mochida, M.D., M.M.Sc. (Young Investigator 2004) of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center/Harvard University, plans on studying genes involved in the development of the cerebral cortex to understand normal brain growth and pathogenesis of various psychiatric diseases. Dr. Mochida focuses on genes involved in microcephaly, a condition in which the brain fails to achieve normal growth and is small. Affected individuals have mental retardation and behavioral disorders, such as autism. Dr. Mochida hypothesizes that microcephaly genes probably play crucial roles in generation and/or survival of neurons. To characterize genes involved in microcephaly and other disorders, Dr. Mochida employs linkage analysis, and localizes the disease gene to a certain position of the genome, and then searches for mutations by comparing the DNA sequences of patients and normal individuals. Results could provide a better understanding of the pathogenesis of many psychiatric disorders in the cerebral cortex.

Program Area: PERVASIVE DEVELOPMENTAL DISORDERS\Autism

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