Schizophrenia, a mental disorder afflicting approximately one
percent of the world population, is characterized by a variety
of symptoms such as: hallucinations, paranoia, disorganized
behavior and the inability to experience pleasure. Previous
studies of the brains of patients with schizophrenia suggest
altered function in the prefrontal cortex, the brain's
organizational center for cognitive function, personality
expression, and behavioral control. International, large-scale
genetic studies of patients with schizophrenia have pointed
researchers to a gene called neuregulin 1 (NRG1), which appears
to play a role in determining one's susceptibility to the
disease. Chang-Gyu Hahn, M.D., Ph.D., Assistant Professor of
Psychiatry, Steven Arnold, M.D., Associate Professor of
Psychiatry and Neurology, and Raquel Gur, M.D., Ph.D., Professor
of Psychiatry, and colleagues at Penn, in collaboration with
Hoau-Yan Wang, Ph.D., at The City University of New York, took
an approach to use NRG1 protein to activate its neuron