This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. The purpose of this research is to confirm and extend previous findings implicating an unusually visible vascular plexus in the nailbeds of the fingers as an endophenotypic marker in schizophrenia. That is, nailfold plexus visibility (NPV) may be an easily assessed indicator of the presence of a heritable phenotype ?with multiple effects on brain structure and function ?that confers an increased susceptibility to a clinically distinct subtype of schizophrenia. More specifically, the theory is that the genetic factors leading to high NPV also alter the development of frontal lobe structure and/or physiology. The goal of this part of the study is to test the hypothesis that first-degree relatives of subjects with schizophrenia and high NPV will have an increased prevalence of high NPV relative to the general population and will exhibit personality, neuropsychological and neuroimaging findings similar to those seen in high NPV patients. The current study will help us to better understand the structural and white matter changes in the brain associated with NPV, this schizophrenia endophenotype, and may help to differentiate between subtypes of schizophrenia. This could ultimately lead to better treatments for schizophrenia based on a better understanding of the different subtypes of the illness and potentially the genes involved in schizophrenia.
Showing the most recent 10 out of 493 publications
