Project Summary

Ganeshwaran H. Mochida, M.D., M.M.Sc. (Young Investigator 2006) of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard University, seeks to find the genes responsible for the development of the cerebral cortex, since its functions are affected in many psychiatric illnesses. To find such genes, Dr. Mochida will focus on a group of disorders called microcephaly, a condition in which the brain fails to achieve normal growth and remains small. Affected patients have mental retardation and behavioral disorders, such as autism. Dr. Mochida hypothesizes that microcephaly genes probably play crucial roles in the generation and/or survival of neurons. In the proposed study, Dr. Mochida will use linkage analysis to localize the disease gene to a certain position of the genome, and then search for mutations by comparing the DNA sequences of the patients and of normal individuals.

Program Area: PERVASIVE DEVELOPMENTAL DISORDERS\Autism

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