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Social Preference and Glutamatergic Dysfunction: Underappreciated Prerequisites for Social Dysfunction in
Junghee Lee1, Michael F Green1
1Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Science, David Geffen School of Medicine at University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA; Veterans Affairs Desert Pacific Mental Illness Research, Education and Clinical Center, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
Trends in Neurosciences
|August 2, 2016
Summary
Schizophrenia treatment is limited, but social preference and N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) dysfunction may offer new insights. Reduced NMDAR function may disrupt social preference, leading to social cognitive impairment and disability.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Psychiatry
- Social Cognition
Background:
- Schizophrenia is characterized by pervasive social functioning impairments.
- Current treatments for social dysfunction in schizophrenia have limited efficacy.
- The underlying psychological and neurobiological mechanisms remain largely unknown.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the role of social preference in schizophrenia.
- To explore the link between N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) dysfunction and social deficits.
- To propose a heuristic model for social dysfunction in schizophrenia.
Main Methods:
- Review of evidence from developmental psychology, behavioral neuroscience, and clinical neuroscience.
- Development of a heuristic model linking NMDAR function to social preference and social cognition.
- Discussion of implications for pathophysiology and treatment.
Main Results:
- Reduced NMDAR function is hypothesized to disrupt social preference.
- Disrupted social preference may lead to social cognitive impairment.
- This model offers a potential mechanism for social disability in schizophrenia.
Conclusions:
- Social preference and NMDAR dysfunction are potential key factors in schizophrenia's social deficits.
- The proposed model provides a framework for understanding social dysfunction.
- Further research may inform novel treatment strategies for schizophrenia and related disorders.
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