Yasmin Hurd seminar abstract

Neuropeptide gene expression in psychiatric subjects

Yasmin Hurd

Karolinska Institute, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Psychiatry Section, 171 76 Stockholm, Sweden

Dysfunction of endogenous neuropeptides has been proposed in the pathophysiology of psychiatric disorders. We have been interested in the possible role of the opioid peptide, dynorphin (DYN), and the neuropeptide Y (NPY) neural systems in psychiatric disorders. DYN is involved in psychomimetic and dysphoric effects, whereas NPY has been mainly implicated in the neurobiology of depression and anxiety. We have used in situ hybridization histochemistry to monitor the mRNA expression pattern and levels of DYN, NPY, and their receptors in subjects diagnosed with bipolar disorder, major depression, or schizophrenia. Brain areas of interest include the cerebral cortex (anterior cingulate and prefrontal), amygdala, and striatum. The results accumulated thus far indicate a greater abnormality in subjects diagnosed with affective disorders in the expression levels of, e.g., the DYN mRNA in amygdaloid complex or of the NPY-related genes in the cerebral cortex. There are indications of striatal abnormalities in the DYN mRNA expression in schizophrenic subjects. Thus, overall, the DYN and NPY-related genes appear to be more impaired in association with affective disorder than with schizophrenia.