Project Summary

Anitha K. Panicker, Ph.D. (Young Investigator 2002) of University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, will focus on the defect of a gene encoding the neural cell adhesion molecule, NCAM, which is important for developing nerve cells to recognize and signal to their neighboring cells and form connections.  Altered NCAM expression is found in postmortem brains and in the cerebrospinal fluid of schizophrenics.  Dr. Panicker will attempt to determine the role of NCAM in neuronal cell development and connectivity in animal models for schizophrenia using a transgenic mouse model.  By studying NCAM mutant mice as models for aspects of the schizophrenia phenotype, one will achieve new insights into the pathophysiology of the disease leading to better treatments for schizophrenia.

Program Area: SCHIZOPHRENIA/PSYCHOTIC DISORDERS\Schizophrenia

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