Two alternative hypotheses are proposed to explain such an association: (1) the existence of a susceptibility locus for schizophrenia and spectrum disorders on the short arm of the X chromosome at Xp21; (2) that these psychiatric disorders may result from an abnormality in the expression of the dystrophin gene in the brain.
This study assessed the quantitative electroenchephalographic (QEEG) absolute power and coherence differences between a group of patients with bipolar I mood disorder (BMD I) and a group of patients with schizophrenia.
Our findings indicate that presynaptic dysbindin-1 reductions independent of the dystrophin glycoprotein complex are frequent in schizophrenia and are related to glutamatergic alterations in intrinsic hippocampal formation connections.
The schizophrenia-susceptibility gene dysbindin (DTNBP1 on 6p22.3) encodes a neuronal protein that binds to beta-dystrobrevin and may be part of the dystrophin protein complex.