Cerebral Hemispheres 2
NEUROSCIENTIFICALLY CHALLENGED

NEUROSCIENCE MADE SIMPLER

The Evolution of Schizophrenia


Schizophrenia is one of the more frightening and debilitating mental disorders. It can cause hallucinations, delusions, and social withdrawal, as well as a variety of other cognitive afflictions. While scientists have yet to decipher the etiology of the disease, its high inheritability rate (60-85%) has led many to look for answers in genetics. Since schizophrenia affects cognitive functions that are distinctly human (like language-related abilities), some have begun to consider ways in which the human brain has evolved, and how this could shed light on the causes of schizophrenia.

A group of researchers published a study this week in Genome Biology that examines the relationship between schizophrenia and the evolution of higher order processes in humans. They first investigated the evolution of molecular mechanisms involved in human cognition. Then they examined the changes that occur in schizophrenic patients, and looked for an overlap between the two data sets.

They found that, of 22 biological processes that show a strong indication of recent positive selection, 6 involve disproportionate numbers of genes that are implicated in schizophrenia. All of those 6 are implicated in energy metabolism, or the regulation of energy flow through the body/brain.

The group then performed comparative analyses between schizophrenic patients, healthy controls, chimpanzees, and rhesus macaques. The reason other primates are used in such a study is to further delineate the evolutionary picture. If an evolutionary change in the brain can be found between a human and a chimpanzee, for example, then one can assume it was a human development that took place after the divergence of chimps and humans.

The researchers saw distinct differences between the four groups, indicating recent evolutionary changes. They again found that metabolites that play key roles in energy metabolism (e.g. lactate, glycine, choline) were affected.

These results caused the scientists to suggest that recent evolutionary changes in our brain’s energy metabolism may have been integral in the development of the higher order processes we associate with the human brain. These changes would have been necessary to meet increased energy demands as the brain went through increases in size, number of synaptic connections, extent of neurotransmitter turnover, etc.

It seems that brain energy metabolism is negatively affected in disorders like schizophrenia. For example, decreases in blood flow to the prefrontal cortex have been reported when schizophrenics attempt cognitive tasks. The researchers in this study suggest that, after the last 2 million years of rapid evolution, the human brain is basically pushing the limits of its metabolic abilities. Thus, any aberrations in the brain’s energy metabolism capabilities could have drastic results, schizophrenia being one example.

According to this perspective, schizophrenia is a by-product of our rapidly evolving brains. Because we are operating at near-capacity levels, any reduction in our ability to produce and process brain energy can be debilitating. In order to verify this hypothesis, however, much more work examining the correlation between evolution, energy metabolism, and brain disorders will need to be done.

 

Khaitovich, P., Lockstone, H.E., Wayland, M.T., Tsang, T.M., Jayatilaka, S.D., Guo, A.J., Zhou, J., Somel, M., Harris, L.W., Holmes, E., Paabo, S., Bahn, S. (2008). Metabolic changes in schizophrenia and human brain evolution. Genome Biology, 9 (8), R124. DOI:10.1186/gb-2008-9-8-r124

YOUR BRAIN, EXPLAINED

Sleep. Memory. Pleasure. Fear. Language. We experience these things every day, but how do our brains create them? Your Brain, Explained is a personal tour around your gray matter. Building on neuroscientist Marc Dingman’s popular YouTube series, 2-Minute Neuroscience, this is a friendly, engaging introduction to the human brain and its quirks using real-life examples and Dingman’s own, hand-drawn illustrations.

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BIZARRE

This book shows a whole other side of how brains work by examining the most unusual behavior to emerge from the human brain. In it, you'll meet a woman who is afraid to take a shower because she fears her body will slip down the drain, a man who is convinced he is a cat, a woman who compulsively snacks on cigarette ashes, and many other unusual cases. As uncommon as they are, each of these cases has something important to teach us about everyday brain function.

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  • Bizarre is a collection of stories of how the brain can create zombies, cult members, extra limbs, instant musicians, and overnight accents, to name a few of the mind-scratching cases. After reading this book, you will walk away with a greater appreciation for this bizarre organ. If you are a fan of Oliver Sacks' books, you're certain to be a fan of Dingman's Bizarre. - Allison M. Wilck, PhD, Researcher and Assistant Professor of Psychology, Eastern Mennonite University

  • Through case studies of both exceptional people as well as those with disorders, Bizarre takes us on a fascinating journey in which we learn more about what is going on in our skull. - William J. Ray, PhD, Emeritus Professor of Psychology, The Pennsylvania State University, author, Abnormal Psychology

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