Towards new treatments for cognitive symptoms in schizophrenia

Cognitive symptoms in chronic mental health conditions like schizophrenia are associated with poor functional outcomes, low recovery rates, and poor quality of life. Identifying and understanding the neural processes that are disrupted and underlie the cognitive and behavioural symptoms remains a challenge. Yet, this fundamental knowledge is key for driving the development of new and better treatments that are more effective, have less side effects, and importantly, work for people who do not currently respond to existing treatments.

The ability to measure complex behaviour and identify cause-and-effect mechanisms using preclinical animal models, combined with cutting-edge behavioural and neural imaging systems, and in vivo pharmacology, provides advanced experimental approaches to tackle this challenge.

This project involves two independent studies and will use mouse models that display disrupted cognitive behaviours, in vivo imaging approaches to identify changes in neural activity during behaviour, and in vivo pharmacology to investigate treatment approaches to restore cognitive and neural deficits.