Grant: Operating Grant - PA: Regional Partnership Program : Manitoba

Schizophrenia is a complex and severe brain disorder that results in symptoms such as hallucinations, inappropriate emotion, difficultly socializing, inattention, and difficulty with learning and memory. The brain has millions of neurons that communicate with each other and are responsible for all aspects of our behaviour and thought processes. The neurons are surrounded by myelin sheaths that allow neurons to communicate with each other effectively. A breakdown in myelin results in abnormal thoughts and behaviour. Current studies suggest that schizophrenia may involve abnormalities in myelin. Studies from our laboratories have shown that the break-down of myelin in mice can cause symptoms that are similar to the symptoms found in patients with schizophrenia. When myelin was allowed to repair, the abnormal behaviour gradually disappeared. The current proposal will investigate the role of myelin, antipsychotic treatment, and stress in a mouse model of schizophrenia. We will examine how myelin damage results in schizophrenia-like behaviour. We will also examine if antipsychotic drug treatment can prevent myelin breakdown and/or aid in myelin repair and behavioural recovery. Finally, we will investigate the role of stress in recovery from myelin damage and schizophrenia-like behaviour. This research will increase our understanding of schizophrenia and the role of stress in the disease. In addition, it may open up new ways to treat schizophrenia by using existing drug treatments differently or developing new treatments that will work on myelin more directly.