Researcher links schizophrenia, gene mutations

Although not directly involved i'm proud to be a part of a recent study conducted at University of Toronto's department of pharmacology regarding dopamine levels and schizophrenia. While its been regarded here for awhile that dopamine has been one of the main culprits behind "episodes" we now have a bit firmer position on the whole ordeal. You can check out this article in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Feb. edition as well.

"The altered genes may provoke the brain to respond and compensate, and compensation often involves the dopamine system going into high gear," says Seeman. "The brain knows about mistakes, and to protect itself, it makes sense for the compensation to re-adjust the dopamine system to preserve the functions - such as movement and thought - that the body and brain needs."

An excessively active dopamine system can trigger the hallucinations and delusions experienced in schizophrenia, amphetamine drug abuse or Alzheimer's disease. In drug abuse, the reaction is temporary; in schizophrenia, it recurs.

"This research brings together two worlds: the psychosis of drug abuse and schizophrenia," says Seeman. "There's a common denominator based on the dopamine receptor."

www.news.utoronto.ca...

FYI - other research links schizophrenia to the mother having flu while the baby is in the womb. ...Most likely, the causes are multifactorial, and the relationships between the factors complex - but yeah, probably cause genetic mutations in some cases.

Hate to see people go on about genetics tho - the reality of environmentally caused mutations tends to get lost, even buried on occasion.