Schizophrenia and the Brain

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Schizophrenia and the Brain

• By Awa Ndiaye
• Lehman College
• Mentor Dr. Jones

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Introduction What is Schizophrenia

• Etymology Greek, (schizo- to spilt or divide,
  phren- mind)
• Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized
  by illogical thinking patterns, delusions,
  hallucinations, and behavioral, emotional and
  intellectual disturbances.

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What part of the Brain is affected by
Schizophrenia

• The Hippocampus- located in the pre-frontal lobe
  of the brain

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Contd. What does the Hippocampus do?

• The hippocampus controls memory, learning and
  emotions.
• Functions
• turns short term memories into long term
  memories
• cognition
• help remember names and faces
• atrophies under stress
• support learning new things

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Materials

• Rats Brain
• Bioquant
• Microtome
• Glass containers with lid
• Sony digital camera
• Cresyl violet
• Microscope

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Procedure

• PART 1 Producing schizophrenia symptoms in the
  rat
• Step 1 Mate two healthy rats and allow the
  offspring to age to 4 days old.
• Step 2 At the 4th day, send an electric current
  through the mediodorsial (MD) cortex on the left
  side of the rats brain.
• Step 3 When the rat reaches 60 days old,
  sacrifice the rat, dissect the brain and slice
  the brain so that the hippocampus and the
  prefrontal cortex is visible.

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Procedure

• PART 2 Creating Slides/Cresyl Violet Staining
• Step 1 Dip the slides in the following solutions
  for the given amount of time
• DeFat
• 70EtOH- 1min
• 95ETOH- 1min
• 95ETOH- 1min
• 100ETOH- 1min
• 100ETOH- 1min
• Xylene- 5min
• Xylene- 5min
• 100ETOH 1min
• 100ETOH 1min
• 95ETOH- 1min
• 95ETOH- 1min
• Stain
• Water 1min
• Cresyl violet 15min
• Rinse slide with water
• 70 ETOH 1min

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Procedure

• PART 3Analyzing data
• Using Bioquant and a microscope connected to the
  computer, compare both sides of the hippocampus.

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Results

• Notice the size difference in the hippocampus.
  The left side of the picture is where the
  electric current was sent and the right side is
  the control (Normal).

Figure 1 Negyessy, L., J. Hamori, and M.
Bentivoglio. "Contralateral Cortical Projection
to the Mediodorsal Thalamic Nucleus Origin and
Synaptic Organization in the Rat." Pergamon
84(1998)
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Discussion

• Based on the results it is instantly recognizable
  that the hippocampus has significantly decreased.
  
• This was caused by the electric current that was
  sent through the left hippocampus of the rats
  brain.
• This leads to the conclusion that the leading
  cause, for schizophrenics symptoms, is the
  decrease of the hippocampus which can cause the
  inability to restore current and new information,
  the loss of memory and the instability of
  emotions.

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Future plans/questions

• Future questions that we would to conduct further
  research on.
• Can schizophrenia be detected earlier before it
  fully develops?
• To find a possible cure for schizophrenia.
• To see whether or not the effects that
  schizophrenia have on the hippocampus can lead to
  any other abnormalities in the brain.

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References

• Boyle, Mary. Schizophrenia A Scientific
  delusion?. New York Chapmen and Hill Inc., 1990.
  
• Haug, and Whalen. Animal Models of human Emotion
  and cogitation. Washington, D.C. American
  Psychological Association, 1999.
• Houston, John CS. The Mind's Foundation. New
  York Dr. John CS Houston, 2001.
• Oxford University Press, "Schizophrenia."
  Encyclopedia of Psychology. V. 7. 2000.
• Wolk, Elaine F.. Schizophrenia A life-course
  Developmental perspective. New York Academic
  Press Inc., 1991.

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Acknowledgements

• Dr. Jones
• Jesse
• Naydu
• Lehman College
• Harlem Children Society
• Dr. Sat Bhattacharya
• Thank You Audience For Listening