Wise Young
02-09-2007, 11:35 PM
By the way, Paul Greengard received the Nobel prize for his work and is at Rockefeller University. DARPP-32 is a molecule that seems to be responsible for regulating neurotransmitter receptor sensitivity in the brain.
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,21201390-2,00.html
Schizophrenia could be 'evolution of the intellect'
By Mark Henderson
February 10, 2007 12:00am
Article from: The Australian
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ONE of the most devastating types of mental illness could be a by-product of the evolution of human beings' intelligence, a new genetic study has suggested.
Scientists have discovered that a common version of a particular gene appears both to enhance a key thinking circuit in the brain, and to be linked to a raised risk of schizophrenia.
The findings, from a study by the US National Institute of Mental Health, provide fresh evidence for the theory that schizophrenia is the price some people pay for our species' advanced intellectual abilities.
The research hints that some of the genetic factors that underpin the human brain's cognitive capacities can also go wrong, leaving a sizeable minority prone to mental illness.
In the study, the NIMH team examined a common variant of a gene called DARPP-32. Three-quarters of the subjects studied inherited at least one copy of it.
This common version of the gene appears to make the brain's most sophisticated thinking region more efficient, the researchers found.
It improves the way information is exchanged between the striatum, a brain region that processes reward, and the prefrontal cortex, the brain's executive hub that manages thoughts and actions.
When this circuit works efficiently, the normal outcome is more flexible thinking and better memory.
But the circuit has been linked to brain functions that go wrong in patients with schizophrenia.
An investigation of 257 families with a history of the condition showed the improving version of DARPP-32 was more common among people who had developed the mental illness.
Daniel Weinberger, of NIMH, said it was possible that while a more efficient link between the prefrontal cortex and striatum normally improves cognitive ability, it may have a negative effect when other genetic and environmental factors interfere.
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,21201390-2,00.html
Schizophrenia could be 'evolution of the intellect'
By Mark Henderson
February 10, 2007 12:00am
Article from: The Australian
Font size: + -
Send this article: Print Email
ONE of the most devastating types of mental illness could be a by-product of the evolution of human beings' intelligence, a new genetic study has suggested.
Scientists have discovered that a common version of a particular gene appears both to enhance a key thinking circuit in the brain, and to be linked to a raised risk of schizophrenia.
The findings, from a study by the US National Institute of Mental Health, provide fresh evidence for the theory that schizophrenia is the price some people pay for our species' advanced intellectual abilities.
The research hints that some of the genetic factors that underpin the human brain's cognitive capacities can also go wrong, leaving a sizeable minority prone to mental illness.
In the study, the NIMH team examined a common variant of a gene called DARPP-32. Three-quarters of the subjects studied inherited at least one copy of it.
This common version of the gene appears to make the brain's most sophisticated thinking region more efficient, the researchers found.
It improves the way information is exchanged between the striatum, a brain region that processes reward, and the prefrontal cortex, the brain's executive hub that manages thoughts and actions.
When this circuit works efficiently, the normal outcome is more flexible thinking and better memory.
But the circuit has been linked to brain functions that go wrong in patients with schizophrenia.
An investigation of 257 families with a history of the condition showed the improving version of DARPP-32 was more common among people who had developed the mental illness.
Daniel Weinberger, of NIMH, said it was possible that while a more efficient link between the prefrontal cortex and striatum normally improves cognitive ability, it may have a negative effect when other genetic and environmental factors interfere.