Suspect gene corrupts neural connections

(NIH/National Institute of Mental Health) Researchers have demonstrated in patients' cells how a rare mutation in a suspect gene corrupts the turning on and off of dozens of other genes underlying synapses -- the connections between neurons. In a 'disease-in-a-dish' study, induced neurons of patients from families affected by a mutation associated with schizophrenia and other major mental illness expressed 80 percent lower-than-normal levels of a protein made by a suspect gene.