Deficit and hemispheric asymmetry of GABA uptake sites in the hippocampus in schizophrenia

There is increasing evidence of a deficit or disturbance of neurons in the brains of schizophrenic patients--evidence that particularly implicates the frontal or temporal lobes. As yet there is no direct neurochemical correlate of the transmitter systems involved, although changes in some neurotransmitters in the temporal lobe have been reported. Radiolabeled nipecotic acid, a specific inhibitor of uptake sites to gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), has provided a marker of GABAergic neurons. The binding of this ligand to brain tissue taken at autopsy has demonstrated a decreased density of GABA uptake sites in the hippocampus in schizophrenia. This decrease was found to correlate in the left hemisphere with increased concentration of dopamine in the amygdala, providing a link between neuropathology, evidence of laterality, and the dopamine hypothesis of the disease.