Project Summary

R. Jeroen Pasterkamp, Ph.D. (Young Investigator 2005) of the University Medical Center Utrecht , aims to identify the proteins inside neurons that guide the formation during development of proper connections and brain circuitry, the wiring of which may be disturbed in mental illness. Proper nervous system wiring requires the assembly of intricate connections between cells in different areas of the brain and in the periphery. Neurons extend processes, known as axons, over long distances to make the right connections. During the past decade, many of the molecules that guide axons during development have been identified. It is now known that in order to exert their effects on axons, guidance molecules bind to receptors on the axonal surface. These interactions induce a series of molecular events inside the neuron that lead to changes in axon extension. But the nature of these intraneuronal molecular changes remains largely unknown. Dr. Pasterkamp proposes to characterize the intraneuronal molecules essential for the proper wiring of the nervous system during development by using novel proteomics approaches and genetically manipulated mice. Dr. Pasterkamp believes that elucidating the molecular basis of neural development will enhance understanding of the molecular etiology of schizophrenia and other early onset mental disorders.

Program Area: SCHIZOPHRENIA/PSYCHOTIC DISORDERS\Schizophrenia\Molecular

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