It is assumed that during the development of schizophrenia the interaction between different brain regions is impaired and, that this impairment of the glutamate receptor signal pathway (NMDA receptor) plays a role. Since the neurobiological mechanisms still not exactly known, the research team examined schizophrenia patients, their relatives and healthy volunteers. They gave them tasks that occupied the work memory and recorded the different interacting brain regions with the fMRI to compare these records.

From the investigations they developed different images of network flexibility. They could observe that in patients were less stable networks than in healthy volunteers. The scientists were able to recognized that the network flexibility was not caused externally by e.g. a side-effect from a drug treatment of schizophrenia, but was genetically caused because the network flexibility was also impaired in patients´ relatives, though more modestly. In network stability was located between that of the patients and the healthy probands as the relatives carried risk genes only on an allele, which were blamed for it.

The researchers confirmed that exactly this signaling pathway led to the unstable network flexibility by a treatment of healthy subjects with dextrometorphan inhibitinf the NMDA signal pathway. After treament they were able so see that the network flexibility was subsequently decreased.

The study provides an important contribution to the understanding of neuronal dynamics by glutamateric signals at the synapses. It can help to provide meaningful targets for the development of new therapies, according to the medical director of the Clinic for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy at the University of Mannheim, Prof. Meyer-Lindenberg, in a press release.

Original publication:
Urs Braun, Axel Schäfer, Danielle S. Bassett et al. (2016): Dynamic brain network reconfiguration as a potential schizophrenia genetic risk Mechanism modulated by NMDA receptor function. PNAS 113/44: 12568-12573.

Source:
http://www.bionity.com/en/news/160243/how-function-the-brain-bei-schizophrenia.html?WT.mc_id=ca0264