Cortical N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor in schizophrenia: Characterising molecular changes at the cellular and sub-cellular level (original) (raw)

2015

Abstract

Schizophrenia is a mental disorder that affects approximately 1% of the world’s population. The N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) seems likely to play a prominent role in schizophrenia; as when NMDAR antagonists are introduced, psychosis occurs in individuals with no mental disorders. This thesis explores how NMDAR may be endogenously changed in the brains of people with schizophrenia. By using tissue fractionation, discussed in chapter 3, to examine the post-synaptic density (PSD) specifically one can specifically examine the NMDAR protein at the synapse of the neuron. Also, one can examine the NMDAR mRNA level in the brains of people with schizophrenia compared to controls. My Masters’ thesis research covers four broad areas, namely subcellular tissue fractionation of human cerebral cortex, the determination of the NMDAR subunit NR1 protein levels specifically in the PSD, analysis of NR1 mRNA transcript across cortical lamina, and the quantification of NMDAR NR1 mRNA at the ce...

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