Cortical glutamate/GABA and inflammation in psychosis (CGIP)
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Defining the disturbance in cortical and GABA function in psychosis, its origins and consequences
IRAS ID
151207
Contact name
J. F. William Deakin
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
The University of Manchester
Research summary
Schizophrenia typically begins during adolescence and early adulthood. Often there is a period (the prodrome) of decline in motivation, interest and sociability before the acute onset of psychotic symptoms such as hearing voices and having threatening paranoid beliefs. Increasing evidence from brain imaging studies suggest subtle changes to the grey matter of the brain are occurring in the prodrome that continues into the acute phase. There is much enthusiasm for the idea that chemical messengers (neurotransmitters) in the grey matter called glutamate and GABA are somehow bound up with the process of becoming psychotic and with the residual state. To understand whether there is something wrong with glutamate and GABA we will measure its release and activity in 60 people in early stages of psychosis (less than 5 years since diagnosis), 60 people with established psychosis (10 years or more since diagnosis) and 60 matched controls. Glutamate/GABA can be measured using a technique called magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS). We will use this technique to investigate whether abnormalities exist in either early or later stages of psychosis. We also want to know whether glutamate/GABA abnormalities are related to inflammatory response that are known to be involved in acute psychosis, possibly leading to later mild damage that accounts for the residual symptoms. We will examine this using the most sensitive Positron Emission Tomography (PET) camera in the country. Finally we will test whether the glutamate/GABA changes produce symptoms and the mechanism for doing so using magnetoencephalography (MEG) to examine synchrony in neuronal activation. This study will be conducted in 3 centres so that we can combine the current UK expertise in 3 highly specialised imaging techniques.
REC name
North West - Preston Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
14/NW/0298
Date of REC Opinion
18 Jun 2014
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion