A gene mutation may trap the brain in the wrong reality in schizophrenia patients
Why it matters: This discovery could lead to new therapies for the 1% of the general population affected by schizophrenia.
- MIT researchers discovered a gene mutation, grin2a, that impairs the brain's ability to update its understanding of reality in schizophrenia patients.
- The mutation specifically disrupts a brain circuit involving the thalamus and prefrontal cortex, leading to difficulty integrating new information and sticking to outdated choices.
- Scientists successfully reactivated this impaired circuit in mice, restoring normal behavior and offering hope for future cognitive therapies for schizophrenia.
- Guoping Feng (MIT) and Michael Halassa (Tufts University) are the senior authors of the study, published in Nature Neuroscience, which builds on previous genetic links between grin2a and schizophrenia.
MIT researchers have identified a gene mutation, grin2a, linked to schizophrenia that traps the brain in outdated beliefs by disrupting a key thalamus–prefrontal cortex pathway, preventing the integration of new information. Crucially, they found a way to reactivate this circuit in mice, offering a potential therapeutic avenue to restore flexible decision-making.
