ArticleThe American journal of psychiatry2023
The Nature of Prefrontal Cortical GABA Neuron Alterations in Schizophrenia: Markedly Lower Somatostatin and Parvalbumin Gene Expression Without Missing Neurons.
Article in The American journal of psychiatry, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 46 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
46 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 63 citations in OpenAlex.
- Altered Expression of GABA-Related Genes in Schizophrenia: Insights from Meta-Analyses of Brain and Blood Samples and iPSC-Derived Organoids.Alpha psychiatry · 2026Pooled it
- Prefrontal and Hippocampal Parvalbumin Interneurons in Animal Models for Schizophrenia: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.Schizophrenia bulletin · 2024Pooled it
- Parvalbumin interneurons under stress: converging mechanisms of vulnerability.The international journal of neuropsychopharmacology · 2026Review
- A Dual Prediction Error Populations Model of Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders: Bridging NMDA Hypofunction and Gain Hyperfunction.Schizophrenia bulletin · 2026Article
- Molecular alterations in chondrolectin-containing somatostatin neurons in schizophrenia differ based on circuit context.Molecular psychiatry · 2026Article
- Transcriptional Profiles of Somatostatin and Parvalbumin Interneuron Subtypes in the Human Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex: Implications for Schizophrenia.The American journal of psychiatry · 2026Article
- Schizophrenia: from mechanism to therapy.Science China. Life sciences · 2026Review
- Schizophrenia and disordered sensorimotor control: challenges, mechanisms and opportunities.Brain : a journal of neurology · 2026Review
- Linking reduced prefrontal microcircuit inhibition in schizophrenia to EEG biomarkers in silico.PLoS computational biology · 2026Article
- Prefrontal parvalbumin neurons as a target for enhancing cognition in non-pathological and 22q11.2 microdeletion syndrome mice.Molecular psychiatry · 2026Article
- From neuroinflammation to neural inference: computational psychiatry meets precision medicine.Schizophrenia (Heidelberg, Germany) · 2026Review
- Investigating the disturbance in cortical glutamate and GABA function in psychosis and its origins and consequences.Molecular psychiatry · 2026Article
- Alterations in GABAergic Interneurons, Neuroinflammation, and Epigenetics: Potential Targets for Therapeutic Strategies in Schizophrenia.Current neuropharmacology · 2026Article
- Investigating neural impairments in psychotic disorders using electroencephalography and cortical spheroids.Translational psychiatry · 2026Article
- Mapping spatially organized molecular and genetic signatures of schizophrenia across multiple scales in human prefrontal cortex.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- The impact and mechanisms of preeclampsia on offspring neurodevelopment.Cell & bioscience · 2026Review
- Disorganized Inhibitory Dynamics in Hippocampal area CA1 of 22q11.2 Deletion Mutant Mice.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Can Sodium Oxybate Mitigate the Symptoms of Schizophrenia?Current neuropharmacology · 2026Review
- Cortical GABAergic Neuron Dysregulation in Schizophrenia Is Age Dependent.Biological psychiatry global open science · 2026Article
- Schizophrenia Pathophysiology: Neurotransmitter Dysfunctions and Biomarker Frontiers.Current topics in medicinal chemistry · 2026Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveIn schizophrenia, somatostatin (SST) and parvalbumin (PV) mRNA levels are lower in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), but it remains unclear whether these findings reflect lower transcript levels per neuron, fewer neurons, or both. Distinguishing among these alternatives has implications for understanding the pathogenesis of, and developing new treatments for, DLPFC dysfunction in schizophrenia.
methodsTo identify SST and PV neurons in postmortem human DLPFC, the authors used fluorescent in situ hybridization to label cells expressing two transcripts not altered in schizophrenia: vesicular GABA transporter (VGAT; a marker of all GABA neurons) and SOX6 (a marker of only SST and PV neurons). In cortical layers 2 and 4, where SST and PV neurons, respectively, are differentially enriched, levels of SST and PV mRNA per neuron and the relative densities of SST-, PV-, and VGAT/SOX6-positive neurons were quantified.
resultsIn individuals with schizophrenia, mRNA levels per positive neuron were markedly and significantly lower for SST in both layers (effect sizes >1.48) and for PV only in layer 4 (effect size=1.14) relative to matched unaffected individuals. In contrast, the relative densities of all SST-, PV-, or VGAT/SOX6-positive neurons were unaltered in schizophrenia.
conclusionsNovel multiplex fluorescent in situ hybridization techniques permit definitive distinction between cellular levels of transcripts and the presence of neurons expressing those transcripts. In schizophrenia, pronounced SST and PV mRNA deficits are attributable to lower levels of each transcript per neuron, not fewer neurons, arguing against death or abnormal migration of these neurons. Instead, these neurons appear to be functionally altered and thus amenable to therapeutic interventions.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.