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Gene/Protein
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Target Concepts:
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Query: UMLS:C0036341 (
schizophrenia
)
60,220
document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)
Schizophrenia
is a severe neuropsychiatric disorder with impairments in social cognition. Several brain regions have been implicated in social cognition, including the nucleus caudatus, prefrontal and temporal cortex, and cerebellum. Oxytocin is a critical modulator of social cognition and the formation and maintenance of social relationships and was shown to improve symptoms and social cognition in
schizophrenia
patients. However, it is unknown whether the oxytocin receptor is altered in the brain. Therefore, we used qRT-PCR and Ornithine
Vasotocin
Analog ([
125
I]OVTA)-based receptor autoradiography to investigate oxytocin receptor expression at both the mRNA and protein level in the left prefrontal and middle temporal cortex, left nucleus caudatus, and right posterior superior vermis in 10
schizophrenia
patients and 6 healthy controls. Furthermore, to investigate confounding effects of long-term antipsychotic medication we treated rats with clozapine or haloperidol for 12weeks and assessed expression of the oxytocin receptor in cortical and subcortical brain regions. In
schizophrenia
patients, we found a downregulation of oxytocin receptor mRNA in the temporal cortex and a decrease in receptor binding in the vermis. In the other regions, the results showed trends in the same direction, without reaching statistical significance. We found no differences between antipsychotic-treated rats and controls. Downregulated expression and binding of the oxytocin receptor in brain regions involved in social cognition may lead to a dysfunction of oxytocin signaling. Our results support a dysfunction of the oxytocin receptor in
schizophrenia
, which may contribute to deficits of social cognition.
...
PMID:Reduced oxytocin receptor gene expression and binding sites in different brain regions in schizophrenia: A post-mortem study. 2713 94
