Schizophrenia linked to part of brain, Pitt says

‘Schizophrenia’ comes from the Greek words for ‘split mind’ ‘mdash; an idea Pitt researchers… ‘Schizophrenia’ comes from the Greek words for ‘split mind’ ‘mdash; an idea Pitt researchers have taken literally in a newly published study of the disease. In their dissection of the disease, its development and the manifestation of its symptoms, Pitt neurology professor Bita Moghaddam and resident Houman Homayoun honed in on a section of the brain previously overlooked in studies of the disease. The orbitofrontal cortex, a section of the brain located just behind the eyes, is associated with cognitive functioning. In particular, this region is thought to be involved in assessing courses of action and their outcomes with respect to positive or negative consequences. Moghaddam and Homayoun identified it as an area worthy of additional experimentation after studying what parts of the brain lit up in images taken during subjects’ experience of schizophrenic-like symptoms. Contemporary knowledge of schizophrenia implicates two neurotransmitters in the disease: dopamine and glutamate. Because networks of these neurotransmitters are active during the manifestation of the disease’s symptoms, current pharmacological drugs work by regulating and stabilizing their activity. By observing how approved medications that act solely upon dopamine affect the brain, as opposed to more experimental drugs that target glutamate, Moghaddam and Homayoun noticed that activity in the orbitofrontal cortex responded equally to both types of medications. Since a single cause of the disease has yet to be identified ‘mdash; a number of disparate factors are thought to play a role ‘mdash; the discovery of a region that responds to multiple types of treatments is heartening. Moghaddam said she hopes their findings will lead to increased interest in studying the orbitofrontal cortex as well as the potential for the development of novel treatments down the road.