While animals do not suffer from schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, animal studies undertaken by Dr Albert Chetcuti and PhD student Carlotta Duncan have investigated how the administration of antimanic drugs such as lithium or antipsychotic drugs can led to changes in the gene expression profiles in the brain. The treatment of mice with antipsychotic drugs has identified the role of potassium channels and their regulators as an unexpected target for understanding the way in which schizophrenia may develop and possibly be treated.
