Complicated brain activity patterns allow us to perceive and respond to our environment in a uniquely human way. Poorly understood interactions between brain regions help to support the development, organization and function of these activity patterns. The organization of these interactions can differ significantly between healthy people, and people with neurological and psychiatric disorders, including psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia. These differences make it probable that abnormalities of such interactions contribute, at least in part, to the pathology and symptoms of brain disorders.
In turn, it is likely that specific interactions between brain regions are determined, in large part, by specific interactions between sets of genes. For example, recent studies have shown strong relationships between patterns of gene expression and brain activity. Our project will develop new computational methods, and will apply these methods to study detailed relationships between genes and brain activity. The project will investigate these relationships in healthy brains, and will use acquired knowledge of these relationships to better understand the organization of brain activity in psychiatric, including psychotic, disorders. Such improved understanding will ultimately help to gain insights into the genetic basis of healthy and diseased brain activity and function, and will, in this way, help make the diagnosis of psychiatric disorders more valid and objective.