CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Nov. 11 (UPI) -- U.S. scientists say they have determined the interaction of two genes is related to a memory impairment common in people with schizophrenia.
The researchers asked 79 people with schizophrenia and 75 control subjects without the disorder to complete a test of working memory while scientists conducted functional MRI scans of an area of the prefrontal cortex.
All of the study's participants were also tested for the presence of variants in two genes. One gene regulates the metabolism of folate and has variants linked with the development of schizophrenia. Variants of the other gene are linked with impaired processing of the neurotransmitter dopamine.
The study's main finding was that in people with schizophrenia, those with both gene variants had the most pronounced reduction in cortical functioning during the memory task.
"These findings may help us to identify patients more likely to benefit from new treatments targeting the dopamine and folate systems," said Dr. Joshua Roffman of Massachusetts General Hospital, the study's lead author.
The report that included researchers from the Universities of New Mexico, Iowa and Minnesota appears online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
