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                        «Working to find the causes of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.»
                                            Welcome
We hope study participants and their families, researchers, mental health professionals, and the general public will find the information and resources here helpful. We encourage visitors to this site to click here to give us feedback. Our Mission Statement explains the goals of the project, started in 1983, by Ann E. Pulver, Sc.D., and the Project History will give you an idea of the progress we have made since we began our work more than two decades ago.  Below you will find an update on the many aspects of our scientific research.

New In 2011

Read our Latest Newsletter

Current Data Collection:

1. Ashkenazi Jewish Study in Schizophrenia. We have current funding from the the National Institute of Mental Health to enroll more individuals of Ashkenazi Jewish descent into our studies of Schizophrenia and Schizoaffective disorder. If you or someone you know is interested in participating, please Contact Us.

2. Ashkenazi Jewish Study in Bipolar Disorder. We currently do not have funding for additional data collection for this study. We appreciate the many who have participated in the past - analyses of data from their participation is ongoing. We also appreciate the many individuals who are still waiting for funding to be reinstated so that they can participate.

3. Functional Capacity Study. We received funding from the National Institute of Mental Health to conduct a research study to focus on detecting the relationship between genes and the ability of those affected with severe psychiatric conditions to function effectively in daily activities. We are revisiting many of the individuals of Ashkenazi descent who have previously enrolled in our genetic studies. We visit individuals in their homes or another location of their choice. Participants are asked to take part in a brief interview regarding their typical day-to-day functioning as well as to perform simple tasks that contribute to practical daily functioning. Collaborators on this new research include Philip D. Harvey, Ph.D in the Department of Psychology at Emory University in Atlanta, Christopher Bowie, Ph.D. in the Department of Psychology at Queen's University in Kingston Ontario, and Thomas Patterson, Ph.D. and Brent Mausbach in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of California at San Diego.

RECENT ANALYSES AND PUBLICATIONS:

(This is a basic summary of some recent findings. For more detail, please read about our Scientific Publications)

FINE MAPPING IN CANDIDATE CHROMOSOMAL REGIONS. Using DNA available from over 1500 Ashkenazi Jewish volunteers, we followed up leads from our linkage scan of the genome for schizophrenia susceptibility loci on chromosome 10q. These analyses provided confirmatory evidence for the role of the Neuregulin 3 gene (NRG3) in Schizophrenia. Similarly, we followed up leads from scans of the genome for bipolar disorder susceptibility loci (chromosome 18p11). Those analyses revealed two loci with putative parent-of-origin effects. These loci confer a fourfold to sixfold risk for bipolar disorder when the allele comes from the father rather than the mother.
FOLLOW-UP LINKAGE SCAN WITH FOCUS ON REGIONS WITH PREVIOUS POSITIVE LINKAGE SCORES. Our previous linkage scan yielded possible regions of interest for bipolar disorder in the Ashkenazi Jewish sample. In a follow-up scan, we added 145 more markers to those regions in order to investigate them more closely. Evidence for linkage increased in nearly every point of interest, most notably a promising area of chromosome 12p13.1-p12.3. This region harbors the GRIN2B gene, which showed evidence for bipolar disorder association in our Ashkenazi Jewish sample (see below)
SCANNING GENES. In addition to scanning the genome looking for regions harboring susceptibility genes, we also have taken a more direct approach by conducting studies to look directly at variation in 64 candidate genes for both bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. Genes were selected based on previously reported associations and/or known biological function. The family collections used for 'gene scanning' included DNA from all of our eligible Ashkenazi Jewish families. In 2006, follow-up genotyping and analyses for the most significant genes was completed. We discovered six genes that met criterion for significant evidence for association with bipolar disorder (DAO, IL2RB, GRM3, GRM4, GRIN2B, and TUBA8), six that met this criterion for schizophrenia (SCA1, GRM4, DPYSL2, and NOS1), and another five that showed overlapping suggestive evidence of association in both disorders (DTNBP1, DPYSL2, G30/G72, GRID1, and NOS1). These results may help to prioritize candidate genes for future study from among the many suspected/proposed for schizophrenia and bipolar disorders.