Schizophrenia Gene's Role May Be Broader, More Potent, Than Thought

ScienceDaily (Nov. 21, 2009) — UCSF scientists studying nerve cells in fruit flies have uncovered a new function for a gene whose human equivalent may play a critical role in schizophrenia. Scientists have known that the mutated form of the human gene -- one of three consistently associated with schizophrenia -- mildly disrupts the transmission of chemical signals between nerve cells in the brain.

The new study focuses on genes involved in "adaptive plasticity," the capacity of nerve cells to compensate for a wide range of perturbations and continue to function normally.
Studies ranging from fruit flies to human have shown that if a nerve cell is functionally impaired then the surrounding cells can compensate and restore normal cell-to-cell communication. This type of "adaptive plasticity" stabilizes brain function, but the molecules involved remain largely unknown.

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