Neuropathological analysis of abnormality in neuronal network formation of schizophrenia based on clinical and genomic information

2022 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 19K17059
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Early-Career Scientists
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: Basic Section 52030:Psychiatry-related
• Research Institution: Nagoya University
• Principal Investigator: Torii Youta 名古屋大学, 医学部附属病院, 講師 (90754945)
• Project Period (FY): 2019-04-01 – 2023-03-31
• Keywords: 統合失調症 / 神経病理 / 死後脳

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Clinical and neuropathological information of postmortem brains of schizophrneia was compiled into a database. The information includes antemortem neuroimaging and long-term clinical course. We focused association between the disease and neurocognitive impairment in the database, and revealed that some of schizophrenia have vulnerability for very mild age-related changes based clinico-neuropathological observations.
Moreover, we immunostained postmortem brains of schizophrenia with rare variants, and revealed morphological alterations of cerebral cortex, GABAergic system, catecholaminergic system or oligodendrocyte-myelin.

Free Research Field

神経病理

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

実際の統合失調死後脳を用いて、臨床経過と神経病理学的所見から、統合失調症に晩年生じる認知症状態の神経病理学的背景を確認した。さらに、稀なゲノム変異を有する統合失調症では、大脳皮質や、GABA神経系、カテコラミン神経系、オリゴデンドロサイト/ミエリンの形態学的変化を明らかとした。臨床経過やゲノム変異に基づいた組織学的変化を確認したことによって、疾患の脳病態の理解が進むと考えられた。