The National Institute of Psychiatry and Neurology has discovered through experiments using mice that a gene that is thought to be associated with various mental illnesses and whose detailed functions have not been previously understood influences the development of nerve cells in the brain. Presentations were made by groups such as the Center.
This research was published in an international scientific journal by a group including Director Mikio Hoshino of the National Center for Neurology and Psychiatry.
The group focused on a gene called ``DSCAM,'' which has been linked to Down syndrome and mental illnesses such as schizophrenia, and whose detailed function was unknown until now, and artificially disabled this gene. We investigated how it would affect mice.
As a result, in mice in which the gene does not function, extra neurotransmitters released from synapses are not efficiently absorbed by neurons in the cerebellum, and the excess remains, hindering synaptic development. That means I understand.
According to the group, this gene acts on a special protein to promote the absorption of neurotransmitters. Director Hoshino, who conducted the research, said, ``If the function of this gene is lost, it will result in neurotransmitter absorption. We found that this has an adverse effect on human function.We would like to conduct further research and develop treatments that can be applied to humans.''