Wu Xiu-Lin, Yan Qiu-Jin, Zhu Fan
State Key Laboratory of Virology and Hubei Province Key Laboratory of Allergy and Immunology, Department of Medical Microbiology, School of Medicine, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430071, Hubei Province, China.
World J Psychiatry. 2022 Apr 19;12(4):541-557. doi: 10.5498/wjp.v12.i4.541.
Schizophrenia (SCZ) is a severe mental illness that affects several brain domains with relation to cognition and behaviour. SCZ symptoms are typically classified into three categories, namely, positive, negative, and cognitive. The etiology of SCZ is thought to be multifactorial and poorly understood. Accumulating evidence has indicated abnormal synaptic plasticity and cognitive impairments in SCZ. Synaptic plasticity is thought to be induced at appropriate synapses during memory formation and has a critical role in the cognitive symptoms of SCZ. Many factors, including synaptic structure changes, aberrant expression of plasticity-related genes, and abnormal synaptic transmission, may influence synaptic plasticity and play vital roles in SCZ. In this article, we briefly summarize the morphology of the synapse, the neurobiology of synaptic plasticity, and the role of synaptic plasticity, and review potential mechanisms underlying abnormal synaptic plasticity in SCZ. These abnormalities involve dendritic spines, postsynaptic density, and long-term potentiation-like plasticity. We also focus on cognitive dysfunction, which reflects impaired connectivity in SCZ. Additionally, the potential targets for the treatment of SCZ are discussed in this article. Therefore, understanding abnormal synaptic plasticity and impaired cognition in SCZ has an essential role in drug therapy.
精神分裂症（SCZ）是一种严重的精神疾病，会影响与认知和行为相关的多个脑区。SCZ症状通常分为三类，即阳性、阴性和认知性症状。SCZ的病因被认为是多因素的，且了解甚少。越来越多的证据表明SCZ存在异常的突触可塑性和认知障碍。突触可塑性被认为在记忆形成过程中于适当的突触处被诱导，并且在SCZ的认知症状中起关键作用。许多因素，包括突触结构变化、可塑性相关基因的异常表达以及异常的突触传递，可能影响突触可塑性并在SCZ中发挥重要作用。在本文中，我们简要总结了突触的形态、突触可塑性的神经生物学以及突触可塑性的作用，并综述了SCZ中异常突触可塑性的潜在机制。这些异常涉及树突棘、突触后致密物以及长时程增强样可塑性。我们还关注反映SCZ中连接受损的认知功能障碍。此外，本文还讨论了SCZ治疗的潜在靶点。因此，了解SCZ中异常的突触可塑性和受损的认知在药物治疗中具有重要作用。
