title: Myelin, copper, and the cuprizone model of schizophrenia.
abstract: In recent years increasing evidence is pointing toward white matter abnormalities in schizophrenia and other psychiatric disorders. The present paper will provide an overview over the role of myelin in cognition and brain function, and its potential involvement in brain disorders. Furthermore, we will examine one particular experimental model for the study of dysmyelination, created by the administration of the toxin cuprizone. Cuprizone, a copper chelator, causes white matter abnormalities in rodents. The administration of cuprizone during specific developmental periods allows for the targeting of specific brain areas for dysmyelination. Thus, cuprizone can be used to study the pathogenesis and pathophysiology of myelin deficiencies in the central nervous system, and its effect on behaviors relevant to psychiatric disorders.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, Center for Molecular Neuroscience and Kennedy Center for Research on Human Development, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37203, USA.
authors.forename: Nicole R
authors.initials: NR
authors.lastname: Herring
authors.forename: Christine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Konradi
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005075:Biological Evolution; D003300:Copper / Q000378:metabolism*; D003471:Cuprizone / Q000633:toxicity*; D003711:Demyelinating Diseases / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000473:pathology; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D009186:Myelin Sheath / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology / Q000502:physiology*; D009836:Oligodendroglia / Q000166:cytology* / Q000187:drug effects; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D003471:Cuprizone; D003300:Copper