Experts Find Strong Evidence for Neurological Cause of Schizophrenia

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A new study published in Neuron has found strong evidence that schizophrenia is caused by gene mutations in the brain that disrupt neurotransmission.

Macalester.edu explains that neurotransmission basically involves the movement of neurons within the brain. Neurons are cells that contain messages in chemcial form.

The messages are transmitted, received and conducted throughout the brain, thereby triggering the different functions of the organ.

According to Medical News Today, the latest research focusing on schizophrenia has found that a certain type of gene mutation in the brain was found to disrupt neurotransmission in people who were schizophrenic.

Lead author Dr. Andrew Pocklington, of Cardiff University, says, "Our study marks a significant step towards understanding the biology underpinning schizophrenia."

He further explains that schizophrenia "is an incredibly complex condition and has up until very recently kept scientists largely mystified as to its origins."

"We now have what we hope is a pretty sizable piece of jigsaw puzzle that will help us develop a coherant model of the disease, while helping us to rule out some of the alternatives," Dr. Pocklington quips.

Dr. Pocklington noted that there is a current need for a reliable model that maps the disease, so that researchers can come up with more efficient and up-to-date treatments.

For the study, Dr. Pocklington and his colleagues compared the genetic data of 11,355 people diagnosed with schizophrenia with 16,416 people who did not have the disorder, reports Psychiatry Advisor.

The researchers obtained the genetic data from three other studies: The International Schizophrenia Consortium, the Molecular Genetics of Schizophrenia, and a study in the UK which involved schizophrenics taking an antipsychotic drug.

After analyzing the genetic data, Pocklington and his colleagues searched for Copy-number variations or CNVs, a mutiation in which "large stretches of DNA are either missing or multiplied," explains Medical News Today. Researchers found that CNVs disrupted genes responsible for neurotransmission in the brain of schizophrenics.

In addition, researchers believe the CNV disruption can also be implicated in other disorders like autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Professor Hugh Perry, chair of the Medical Research Council Neuroscience and Mental Health Board in the UK, believes that the new study will help doctors understand the genetic causes of schizophrenia.

"In the future, this work can lead to new ways of predicting an individual's risk of developing schizophrenia and form the basis of new targeted treatments that are based on an individual's genetic makeup," says Prof. Perry.