Scientists have created what appears to be a schizophrenic mouse by reducing the inhibition of brain cells involved in complex reasoning and decisions about appropriate social behavior.
Findings by Medical College of Georgia scientists, published Dec. 28 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, elucidate the critical balance between excitation and inhibition of these cells that appears to go awry in schizophrenia. They also provide the first animal model for studying the disabling psychiatric disorder that affects about 1 percent of the population.
"We believe the mouse, which exhibits some of the same aberrant behavior as patients with this disorder, will help identify better therapies," said Dr. Lin Mei, a developmental neurobiologist who directs MCG's Institute of Molecular Medicine and Genetics. "We are doing testing to see if antipsychotic drugs already on the market are effective in treating the mouse."
MCG scientists made the mouse by deleting a candidate gene for schizophrenia, ErbB4, from interneurons, which are brain cells that help shower larger decision-making neurons, called pyramidal cells, with inhibition.
READ MORE @ SCIENCE DAILY
Showing posts with label brain research. Show all posts
Showing posts with label brain research. Show all posts
Monday, December 28, 2009
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Experts urge wider use of brain-boosting drugs
Three job candidates sit in a quiet room, straining over a tough exam. But one of them has taken a memory-enhancing drug the other two couldn't afford. Is the test fair?
In another futuristic scenario, a drug can help airline pilots keep focused during a long flight, though it causes some side effects. May an airline require pilots to take the drug?
Get ready to confront such questions in daily life, a group of scientists and policy experts urge in a thought-provoking commentary published online Sunday by the journal Nature.
Brain research is accelerating, and a new era of "cognitive enhancement" - the use of brain-stimulating drugs and devices by healthy people - is approaching, the authors said.
READ MORE @ S.F. CHRONICLE
In another futuristic scenario, a drug can help airline pilots keep focused during a long flight, though it causes some side effects. May an airline require pilots to take the drug?
Get ready to confront such questions in daily life, a group of scientists and policy experts urge in a thought-provoking commentary published online Sunday by the journal Nature.
Brain research is accelerating, and a new era of "cognitive enhancement" - the use of brain-stimulating drugs and devices by healthy people - is approaching, the authors said.
READ MORE @ S.F. CHRONICLE
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