Rat brains point to lead's role in schizophrenia

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2015-03/cums-rbp031115.php


Public Release: 11-Mar-2015
Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health

A study of the brains of rats exposed to lead has uncovered striking similarities with what is known about the brains of human schizophrenia patients, adding compelling evidence that lead is a factor in the onset of schizophrenia.

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"The similarities in the brain structure and neuronal systems between what we see in lead-exposed rats and human schizophrenia patients are striking, and adds to a growing body of literature suggesting that early lead exposure primes the brain for schizophrenia later in life," says senior author Tomás Guilarte, PhD, chair of Environmental Health Sciences at the Mailman School.

In a related finding, the researchers found that rats exposed to lead had a much stronger reaction to cocaine than healthy rat controls. In the experiment, lead-exposed rats that were injected with cocaine ran around in their cages at twice the distance of lead-free control rats. The rat behavior is meaningful because it mirrors what is seen in schizophrenia patients, who are known to have a heightened response to the drug.

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