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Altered myelination in schizophrenia The development of prefrontal cortex has been implicated in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. During development and early adulthood axonal connections that connect, various cortical regions with the medial temporal and limbic areas are believed to undergo gradual myelination. Oligodendrocytes are responsible for myelination of axons. Myelination serves an important function by providing insulation to axons and increasing the speed of conduction of action potential. The integrity of the connections within prefrontal cortex as well as those from other parts of brain may be disturbed by pathological processes that affect myelination and oligodendrocyte function. Furthermore, results of microarray studies in postmortem tissue from prefrontal cortex of suggest differential regulation of oligodendrocyte and myelin-related genes in schizophrenia. Accordingly we are studying the expression of several genes that are related to myelination and oligodendrocyte function in postmortem brain tissue in schizophrenia. |