Researchers at MIT’s Picower Institute for Learning and Memory have identified a master genetic regulator that could account for faulty brain functions that contribute to schizophrenia.
The work, reported in the advance online publication of Nature Neuroscience, may one day lead to new strategies for treating schizophrenia and other diseases caused by malfunctioning synapses, the connections among neurons, said co-author Li-Huei Tsai, director of the Picower Institute and the Picower Professor of Neuroscience at MIT.
Genetic variations in the gene encoding a particular microRNA — miRNA-137 — have been linked with an increased risk for schizophrenia. While schizophrenia is tied to multiple genes, “a more complete picture of miRNAs may improve our understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying schizophrenia,” Tsai says.
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