Work

A quantitative review of the postmortem evidence for decreased cortical N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor expression levels in schizophrenia: How can we link molecular abnormalities to mismatch negativity deficits?

Year: 2015

Type: article

Study designs: Systematic Review, Meta-Analysis

Abstract: Evidence suggests that anomalous mismatch negativity (MMN) in schizophrenia is related to glutamatergic abnormalities, possibly involving N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors. Decreased cortical expressions of NMDA receptor subunits have been observed in schizophrenia, though not consistently. To aid with integration and interpretation of previous work, we performed a meta-analysis of effect sizes of mRNA or protein levels of the obligatory NR1 subunit in prefrontal cortex from people with schizophrenia. In schizophrenia compared to unaffected controls the pooled effect size was -0.64 (95% confidence interval: -1.08 to -0.20) for NR1 mRNA reduction and -0.44 (95% confidence interval: -0.80 to -0.07) for NR1 protein reduction. These results represent the first step to a deeper understanding of the region-specific, cell-specific, and stage-specific NMDA receptor hypofunction in schizophrenia, which could be linked to mismatch negativity deficits via transgenic and pharmacological animal models.

Source: Biological Psychology

DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2015.10.013

Authors: Vibeke S. Catts, Yan Ling Lai, Cyndi Shannon Weickert, Thomas W. Weickert, Stanley V. Catts

Institutions: UNSW Sydney, Schizophrenia Research Institute, Neuroscience Research Australia, The University of Sydney, The University of Queensland

Language: English

Topic: Schizophrenia research and treatment

Subfield: Psychiatry and Mental health

Field: Medicine

Domain: Health Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,440