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RESEARCH UPDATE 2004

Christine Konradi
Konradi, foreground, with lab assistant Rachael Youngs.
A new hypothesis for Bipolar Disorder
Using a technique known as gene array analysis, Christine Konradi, PhD, and investigators in the Mailman Research Center's Neuroplasticity Laboratory have studied the expression of more than 12,000 genes in postmortem brain samples from patients diagnosed with either schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. The latter group shows a decrease in expression of genes involved in cellular energy metabolism. These findings support the hypothesis that a malfunction in the brain cells mitochondria, where most of a cells energy is produced, may be involved in bipolar disorder. In the Brain Imaging Center, studies done by Perry Renshaw, MD, PhD, and his colleagues, using magnetic resonance spectroscopy have also demonstrated changes in brain chemistry that are consistent with mitochondrial dysfunction in untreated individuals with bipolar disorder. These observations have led to the investigation of novel natural products that increase mitochondrial function as potential treatments for the illness.
Phil Holzman

Philip Holzman, PhD, and investigators in the Mailman Research Center's Psychology Research Laboratory have found that the difficulty schizophrenic patients and many of their relatives have in judging the velocity of moving objects is regulated in the middle temporal region of the brain, an area not previously suspected to be involved in schizophrenia. They also have discovered that schizophrenic patients have an impairment in their short-term memory which suggests some part of the prefrontal cortex may be impaired. Studies of these specific brain sites may enhance the ability of investigators to identify inherited genes that predispose individuals to schizophrenia.

Contents:

  • Cover Page
  • Page 1 - A letter from Research Administration and the President
  • Page 2 - Research Leadership: A Continuing Tradition / Funding of Research
  • Page 3 - An Overall Glance at McLean Research / Achievement through Collaboration
  • Page 4 - Advances Aid in the Assessment of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in Children
  • Page 5 - Growth in Research Imaging
  • Page 6 - Planning for the Future / Bipolar Disorder and Schozophrenia
  • Page 7 - A new hypothesis for Bipolar Disorder / Psychology Research Laboratory
  • Page 8 - Aging, Alzheimer's and Other Neurodegenerative Disorders / Alzheimer's and Insomnia
  • Page 9 - Turbulent Teens / Brain Development and Disorders of Childhood
  • Page 10 - Depression and Anxiety Disorders / Understanding Memory
  • Page 11 - Treating Substance Abuse / ADARC
  • List of Principal Investigators at McLean
  • The Power of Private Philanthropic Support
McLean Hospital is the largest psychiatric facility of Harvard Medical School, an affiliate of the Massachusetts General Hospital and a member of Partners HealthCare.
We'd like to hear from you. If you have comments or questions about McLean, or would like further information on specific initiatives mentioned in this report, please email PA@mclean.harvard.edu.
Research Update is a collaborative project produced by Research Administration, Peter Paskevich, MA, vice president; and the McLean Hospital Public Affairs Office: Cynthia Lepore, director. Designer: Valerie Bessette. Photographers: Jim Harrison and Jeff Thiebauth.