Development of Cortical Circuits: Understanding the Biological Basis of Brain Disorders
(Christin Gampe, Lena Krüger, Falk Nitsche, Christine Raue, Michael Richter, André Steinecke, Manuel Teichert and Jürgen Bolz)

Mental illnesses such as schizophrenia, major depression or autism are complex diseases of the brain. These diseases share common symptoms and risk factors; and there is now compelling evidence for the contribution of both, environmental and genetic factors, for these devastating brain disorders. In this research project we examine candidate genes such as disrupted-in-schozophrenia 1 (DISC1) and their encoded proteins that have been associated with neuropsychiatric disorders. For this we have combined molecular and cellular approaches with mouse genetics (knockout and transgenic animals). In this integrated approach we use a variety biological strategies and technologies, including functional in vitro assays, DNA Microarrays and live imaging with 2-photon laser microscopy. We hope that these studies will produce model animals, in which the developmental origins of structure-function relationships in the mature brain can be directly investigated. We also anticipate that this will be the beginning of a detailed understanding of how specific gene products contribute to the assembly of precise cortical circuits. Overall these studies are expected to provide a link from the genome to the functional architecture of brain and how subtle alterations in these highly complex processes lead to characteristic diseases of the brain.