Angelina Tadros
November 26, 2025
Dr. Barbato
Genetics Blog #5
Schizophrenia in the Brain
A recent study aimed to map the genetic structure of schizophrenia in the brain, focusing on the caudate nucleus, an area linked to the disorder and targeted by antipsychotic medications. Researchers in this study analyzed postmorton tissue (which is biological tissue collected after a person has died) from 443 donors, including people with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder and healthy controls. They examined gene expression, identifying the risk genes, gene networks and how antipsychotic use influences brain activity. They found altered expression in over 2,700 genes in people with schizophrenia, revealing both known and new genes associated with the disorder.
This study highlights the role of dopamine regulation in schizophrenia, specifically through the dopamine receptor gene DRD2. Reduced expression of this receptor in the caudate nucleus can lead to elevated dopamine levels, which are linked to symptoms like psychosis. Additionally, researchers used a new method to map gene networks, finding linked genes involved in neuron development and signaling. These findings reflect that schizophrenia and things like medication use can cause small changes in brain cells, which may lead to problems in thinking and behavior. Understanding these networks can help researchers make treatments that target multiple genes and biological pathways at the same time. Structural imaging studies have also shown that people at high risk for developing psychosis (converters), as well as people with schizophrenia, experience fast shrinking of certain brain regions, especially the prefrontal cortex, compared with nonconverters and healthy individuals (shown in Figure 1). These studies demonstrate how genetic and cellular changes in the brain can lead to obvious structural changes that may cause symptoms of schizophrenia.
Figure 1.
Converters: people at ultra high risk for psychosis who went on to develop psychosis.
Nonconverters: people at ultra high risk who did not develop psychosis.
Schizophrenia patients vs. healthy controls: Another comparison showing how brain contraction differs between diagnosed patients and healthy people.
Brain surface contraction: Red/pink areas on the scans show areas where the brain surface is shrinking faster over time, measured in mm/year. Blue areas show movement or growth, but the focus is on the contraction.
Prefrontal cortex: Both converters and schizophrenia patients show the most contraction as shown in figure 1, this ultimately affects functions like judgment, decision-making and impulse control.
This research has highlighted the complexity of genetic risk in schizophrenia and the importance of focusing on how genes work together in networks rather than in isolation. It also shows that treatments like antipsychotics have effects on gene expression and their effects should be considered in more genetic studies. Focusing on genetic networks could help professionals to develop treatments specific to a person's genetic needs, and possibly creating better treatments to help those living with schizophrenia.
Sources
Picture+other source: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4235761/
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