FROM NEURON
Disruption of GABAergic and glutamatergic neurotransmission in the brain might play a causative role in schizophrenia, data from a large genomewide study show.
Researchers compared genetic data of 11,355 individuals with schizophrenia and 16,416 controls – looking specifically at copy number variant mutations in which large stretches of DNA are deleted or duplicated, and what impact those mutations might have.
They found that these mutations most commonly affect genes involved in inhibitory GABAergic and excitatory glutamatergic signaling, according to a paper published June 3 in Neuron.
“Given the strong functional links between the major inhibitory GABAergic and excitatory glutamatergic systems, our findings converge on a broad, coherent set of pathogenic processes, providing firm foundations for studies aimed at dissecting disease mechanisms,” wrote Dr. Andrew J. Pocklington and his coauthors.
Read the full report here: ( Neuron 2015;86:1203-14 ).
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