Studies Conducted at Douglas Hospital on Schizophrenia Recently Reported (Altered Excitatory and Decreased Inhibitory Transmission In the Prefrontal Cortex of Male Mice With Early Developmental Disruption To the Ventral Hippocampus).

A recent study conducted at Douglas Hospital in Montreal, Canada, has shed light on the mechanisms underlying impaired connectivity in the ventral hippocampal (vHPC)-prefrontal cortical (PFC) pathway in individuals with schizophrenia. The researchers used transgenic male mice to investigate the effects of early developmental disruptions to the vHPC on long-term functional organization in the PFC. The study found that these disruptions led to impaired firing output in pyramidal cells and alterations in excitatory and inhibitory synaptic inputs onto these cells. The researchers also identified deficits in inhibitory transmission originating from PV-interneurons. These findings provide insights into the circuit pathology of schizophrenia and how the PFC adapts to early developmental disruptions in the vHPC. [Extracted from the article]