Scientists Discover Neurochemical Imbalance in Schizophrenia

Scientists are making new discoveries when it comes to schizophrenia. Using human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs), they've found that neurons from patients with schizophrenia secrete higher amounts of three neurotransmitters that are associated in a range of psychiatric disorders.

"The study provides new insights into neurotransmitter mechanisms in schizophrenia that can lead to new drug targets and therapeutics," said Vivian Hook, senior author of the new study, in a news release.

In order to learn a bit more about schizophrenia and these neurotransmitter mechanisms, the scientists created functioning neurons derived from hiPSCs, which were reprogrammed from skin cells of schizophrenia patients. The scientists were able to both observe and stimulate these human neurons, learning a bit more about their function.

More specifically, the researchers activated these neurons so that they would secrete neurotransmitters, which are chemicals that excite or inhibit the transmission of electrical signals through the brain. In the end, they found that the neurons created from schizophrenia patients secreted greater amounts of the catecholamine neurotransmitters dopamine, norepinephrine and epinephrine.

That's not all the researchers found, though. They also discovered that more neurons were dedicated to the production of tyrosine hydroxylase, which is the first enzyme in the biosynthetic pathway for the synthesis of dopamine.

"All behavior has a neurochemical basis in the brain," said Hook. "This study shows that it is possible to look at precise chemical changes in neurons of people with schizophrenia."

The findings could be a step forward when it comes to creating future treatments for patients with schizophrenia. In addition, it's possible that researchers will be able to evaluate the severity of an individual's disease, identify different sub-0types and even pre-screen patients for drugs that will most likely help them.

The findings are published in the journal Stem Cell Reports.