Researchers Make Neurons from People with Schizophrenia

Researchers have taken skin cells from individuals with schizophrenia, bathed them in chemical cocktails and coaxed them to develop into neurons, according to a paper published 13 April in Nature.The cultured neurons, called induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells, show dampened signaling and altered gene expression similar to those seen in postmortem brains of people with the disease. Exposing the cells to a schizophrenia drug, loxapine, reverses the abnormal connections between the neurons.The findings suggest that iPS cells can be used to study other complex brain disorders, including autism.Read more at...SFARI, April 2011.