A new study published in the Jan. 17 issue of Cell explores the contribution of microRNAs (non-coding Ribonucleic acid) to 22q11.2 deletion syndrome - a genetic predictor of a variety of illnesses and conditions including schizophrenia, developmental delays and learning disabilities. The study by NARSAD Grantee Joseph A. Gogos, M.D., Ph.D., Associate Professor, Physiology & Cellular Biophysics, Neuroscience, Columbia University and colleagues found that mice with 22q11.2 deletion syndrome (a syndrome caused by the deletion of a small piece of chromosome 22) had dramatically lower microRNA185 expression and heightened neuronal gene responsiveness resulting in altered dendrite and spine formation. This study is important because approximately a third of people with the syndrome develop schizophrenia.

Read the full story in the Schizophrenia Research Forum sponsored by the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation