Morphological changes in the developing brain may account for some of the cognitive deficits and psychosis present in patients with schizophrenia. The “reduced neuropil hypothesis” proposes that the decreased brain volume observed in schizophrenia patients is caused by a disruption in proper axonal and dendritic growth. Cellular processes that affect neuronal differentiation and development, like the cAMP pathway, may underlie some of the pathology. This paper investigates single nucleotide polymorphisms in the VSNL1 gene and the resulting gene product, shown here to regulate cAMP, and demonstrates an association with schizophrenia. Which other proteins, specifically those that play a role in neuronal metabolism, do you think are important in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia?
