Genes, Environment and Behavior (LSCI 2040) Final Draft of Semester Project - Schizophrenia Instructor: Chamany Katayoun I. Abstract Despite considerable research, the etiology of schizophrenia is still poorly understood. The challenge lies in the complex pathophysiology of the disease and its interactions with a variety of genomic and epigenomic factors. This paper intends to show that candidate SCHZ susceptibility pathways including NRG1 and NMDAR should be examined both for their neurobiological functions as well as from a pathobiological point of view, particularly their interactions with other pathways. One of the remarkable discoveries in recent research is a candidate susceptibility gene, NRG I and role of NMDAR in schizophrenia. Therefore, the first part of the paper will be devoted to illustration of recent discoveries concerning NRG I and NMDAR, specifically the findings from genome wide scan studies and biochemical tests, involving NMDAR-blocking drug. In the second part of the paper, I will demonstrate the importance of the pathobiological function of NGRI and NMDAR in schizophrenic individuals. This will be done by illustrating a study of two scientists, Graham Pitcher and Michael Salter in the article "Schizophrenia susceptibility pathway neuregulin I - ErbB4 suppresses Src upregulation of NMDA receptors" published in "Nature Medicine". Their study of mice models investigates a potential link between glutamatergic dysfunction and the candidate schizophrenia genes NRG I and ErbB4. EFTA_R1_0207501 3 EFTA02702554