Grant: Operating Grant

According to the Canadian Mental Health Association 20% of Canadians will experience mental illness at some points during their lives. Although there is strong evidence showing the genetic causes of some psychiatric disorders, recent studies have indicated that the environment also plays a major role in the causes of psychiatric disorders, in particular schizophrenia. One such factor contributing to psychiatric disorders in adulthood is prenatal infection, or exposure to an infection while in utero. My research explores this connection by using rat models. I will first simulate an infection in pregnant rats and then monitor the offspring by measuring brain activity during various behavioural tasks. The offspring are later treated with novel antipsychotic medications to help reduce the abnormal symptoms associated with psychiatric disorder. The second phase of the project involves attempting to block the effects of the infection in the pregnant rats before it triggers the cascade of events leading to psychiatric symptoms. Using a pharmacological compound that has been proven to reduce the symptoms of severe respiratory infections in animals, I will administer it to pregnant rats to block the effects of infection that disrupt the brain development of their offspring. By combining immunological research related to infection with that focused on psychiatric disorders, I propose an approach to treating psychiatric disorders that focuses on prevention rather than the treatment of symptoms.