Many risk genes interact synergistically to produce schizophrenia and many neurotransmitter interactions have been implicated. We have developed a circuit-based framework for understanding gene and neurotransmitter interactions. NMDAR hypofunction has been implicated in schizophrenia because NMDAR antagonists reproduce symptoms of the disease. One action of antagonists is to reduce the excitation of fast-spiking interneurons, resulting in disinhibition of pyramidal cells. Overactive pyramidal cells, notably those in the hippocampus, can drive a hyperdopaminergic state that produces psychosis. Additional aspects of interneuron function can be understood in this framework, as follows. (i) In animal models, NMDAR antagonists reduce parvalbumin and GAD67, as found in schizophrenia. These changes produce further disinhibition and can be viewed as the aberrant response of a homeostatic system having a faulty activity sensor (the NMDAR). (ii) Disinhibition decreases the power of gamma oscillation and might thereby produce negative and cognitive symptoms. (iii) Nicotine enhances the output of interneurons, and might thereby contribute to its therapeutic effect in schizophrenia.

Neurons that express the compound, ␥ -aminobutyric acid (GABA), are broadly present throughout the central nervous system, although telencephalic structures, such as the cerebral cortex, show the most abundant quantities of this neurotransmitter (Jones 1987). In the discussion that follows, the anatomy and physiology of various types of GABAergic interneurons in the cortex and hippocampus will be discussed and related to recent postmortem studies implicating this transmitter system in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia and bi- 25 , NO . 1 polar disorder and their treatment with neuroleptic drugs (for more comprehensive reviews on cortical and hippocampal neurons see: Hof et al. 1993;Freund and Buzsaki 1996;Somogyi et al. 1998). NEUROBIOLOGY OF GABAERGIC INTERNEURONSBased on Golgi-impregnation studies, Ramon y Cajal provided the first descriptions of several different morphological subtypes of interneurons in the cerebral cortex and hippocampus (Ramon y Cajal 1893, 1911. In more recent years, it has been shown that, with some overlap, different morphological subtypes also have distinct distributions, connectivity, neurochemistry, and electrophysiological properties (for reviews see Hof et al. 1993;Freund and Buzsaki 1996). It is interesting to note that every segment of a pyramidal neuron, such as the soma, dendritic branches and spines, and the initial axonal segment, receives dense GABAergic synaptic innervation (O'Kusky and Colonnier 1982;Hendry et al. 1983;Houser et al. 1983; Beaulieu et al. 1992; for reviews see Jones 1993;Freund and Buzsaki 1996). Even more interestingly, each of these segments appears to be innervated by distinct GABAergic neuronal subtypes (see below).These differences strongly suggest that each of these subtypes plays a fundamentally different role in physiological and pathological mechanisms. In the discussion that follows, cortical interneurons will be described first, since our most basic understanding of GABAergic cells is derived from these populations. In more recent years, however, similar characterizations of interneurons in hippocampus have emerged. Although these cells show some striking similarities to their cortical counterparts, there are also some unique features that distinguish them. For this reason, interneurons in the hippocampus are discussed separately. Cortex Neuroanatomical Studies of Cortical Interneurons.Various types of GABAergic neurons can be categorized according to the type of synaptic profiles they are associated with, as this has direct implications for understanding the physiological role of these cells in cortical circuits. These categories are discussed below.A XO -S OMATIC I NHIBITORY S YNAPSES (B ASKET C ELLS ). The most commonly encountered interneurons ( Figure 1A) are multipolar in shape, i.e., they may have three or more primary dendritic branches emanating from their cell bodies, some having somata that are as large as those of pyramidal neurons (Jones and Hendry 1984). Using immunocytochemistry to localize the enzyme ). These cells also ...

The increased staining of myelin during the first and second decades principally occurred in the subicular region and adjacent portions of the presubiculum. During the fourth through sixth decades, however, it extended to progressively more lateral locations along the surface of the presubiculum. The precise origin(s) of the axons showing progressive myelination is unknown; however, the axons in the subiculum may include some perforant path fibers, while those found in the presubiculum may include cingulum bundle projections. Overall, our data are consistent with the idea that both early and late postnatal increases of myelination occur in a key corticolimbic relay area of the human brain and underscore the importance of applying a neurodevelopmental perspective to the study of psychopathology during childhood, adolescence, and even adulthood.

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GABAergic dysfunction is present in the hippocampus in schizophrenia (SZ) and bipolar disorder (BD). The trisynaptic pathway was ''deconstructed'' into various layers of sectors CA3/2 and CA1 and gene expression profiling performed. Network association analysis was used to uncover genes that may be related to regulation of glutamate decarboxylase 67 (GAD 67), a marker for this system that has been found by many studies to show decreased expression in SZs and BDs. The most striking change was a down-regulation of GAD 67 in the stratum oriens (SO) of CA2/3 in both groups; CA1 only showed changes in the SO of schizophrenics. The network generated for GAD 67 contained 25 genes involved in the regulation of kainate receptors, TGF-␤ and Wnt signaling, as well as transcription factors involved in cell growth and differentiation. In SZs, IL-1␤, (GRIK2/3), TGF-␤2, TGF-␤R1, histone deacetylase 1 (HDAC1), death associated protein (DAXX), and cyclin D2 (CCND2) were all significantly up-regulated, whereas in BDs, PAX5, Runx2, LEF1, TLE1, and CCND2 were significantly down-regulated. In the SO of CA1 of BDs, where GAD67 showed no expression change, TGF-␤ and Wnt signaling genes were all up-regulated, but other transcription factors showed no change in expression. In other layers/sectors, BDs showed no expression changes in these GAD 67 network genes. Overall, these results are consistent with the hypothesis that decreased expression of GAD 67 may be associated with an epigenetic mechanism in SZ. In BD, however, a suppression of transcription factors involved in cell differentiation may contribute to GABA dysfunction.epigenetics ͉ network association analysis ͉ PAX5 ͉ Runx2 ͉ HDAC1