This study points these variations as the origin of conditions such as bipolar disorder schizophrenia or severe depression. This research was conducted by the Universitat de València (UV) laboratory of Professor Juan Nácher, Nacherlab, and headed by Júlia Alcaide. The work revealed significantly low density levels in the extracellular matrix, which are complex structures composed of molecules that are part of a tissue, from the prefrontal cortex of neuropsychiatric patients. Results from this research pave the way for other studies to develop new drugs to treat these diseases.
This study, made using post-mortem samples obtained at the Stanley Medical Research Institute (USA), has analysed the prefrontal cortex of patients suffering from major depression, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. This area of the brain plays a very important role in complex cognitive processes such as decision-making. The work has found anomalies in its structure and functioning in various mental illnesses, such as a low density in the extracellular matrix of people suffering from bipolar disorder or psychosis.
The research aimed to determine if, in some of the psychiatric illnesses analysed, there were differences in the density of the perineuronal networks of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). Perineuronal networks are parts of the extracellular matrix surrounding inhibitory neurons, also called interneurons, whose presence is essential for the development and stability of their connections with other neurons. This hypothesis is linked with the results of several previous studies, which had already detected variations in the inhibitory neurons of this brain area in different psychiatric disorders.
The article Alterations of perineuronal nets in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex of neuropsychiatric patients, published in the International Journal of Bipolar Disorders, provides relevant information to the understanding of the neurobiological bases of psychiatric diseases. Results of this study might be useful in research aimed at developing new drugs. This will normalise the interneurons functionality and connectivity in order to alleviate some of their symptoms.
Nacherlab Laboratory
This research has been carried out by Nacherlab, led by the Professor of Cellular Biology at the Universitat de València Juan Nácher. This laboratory is part of UV Interdisciplinary Research Structure for Biotechnology (ERI Biotecmed), as well as the Cellular Biology, Functional Biology and Physical Anthropology Department. The laboratory is also part of CIBERSAM, a national biomedical research centre on the mental health network, made up of 26 research groups from eight different autonomous communities. In addition, Nacherlab works with the INCLIVA Biomedical Research Institute.
Article:
Alcaide J., Guirado R., Crespo C., et al. Alterations of perineuronal nets in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex of neuropsychiatric patients. Int. J. Bipolar Disord. 2019; 7(1):24. Published on November 15th 2019.
DOI: 10.1186/s40345-019-0161-0
