# So now they know what causes schizophrenia!
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-now-they-know-what-causes-schizophrenia/744407
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
**Created:** [January 27, 2016, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-now-they-know-what-causes-schizophrenia/744407 "2016-01-27T20:18:39Z")
**Posts on this page:** 10
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)
#### Post date: [January 27, 2016, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-now-they-know-what-causes-schizophrenia/744407/1 "2016-01-27T20:18:39Z")
New study as to the causes of schizophrenia identifies specific gene location and synapse pruning activity.
> **[Schizophrenia’s strongest known genetic risk deconstructed](https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/schizophrenias-strongest-known-genetic-risk-deconstructed)**
>
> Suspect gene may trigger runaway synaptic pruning during adolescence – NIH-funded study.
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### Author:  [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)
#### Post date: [January 27, 2016, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-now-they-know-what-causes-schizophrenia/744407/2 "2016-01-27T20:38:34Z")
> [@](#):
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> Access denied
>
> You are not authorized to access this page.
Maybe they know… 😉
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### Author:  [@Robert163](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robert163)
#### Post date: [January 27, 2016, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-now-they-know-what-causes-schizophrenia/744407/3 "2016-01-27T20:53:21Z")
> [@AHunter3](#):
>
> Maybe they know… 😉
The site in Chromosome 6 harboring the gene C4 towers far above other risk-associated areas on schizophrenia’s genomic “skyline,” marking its strongest known genetic influence. The new study is the first to explain how specific gene versions work biologically to confer schizophrenia risk. Psychiatric Genomics Consortium
Versions of a gene linked to schizophrenia may trigger runaway pruning of the teenage brain’s still-maturing communications infrastructure, NIH-funded researchers have discovered. People with the illness show fewer such connections between neurons, or synapses. The gene switched on more in people with the suspect versions, who faced a higher risk of developing the disorder, characterized by hallucinations, delusions and impaired thinking and emotions.
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### Author:  [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)
#### Post date: [January 27, 2016, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-now-they-know-what-causes-schizophrenia/744407/4 "2016-01-27T23:51:44Z")
Fascinating.
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### Author:  [@Idle\_Thoughts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idle_Thoughts)
#### Post date: [January 27, 2016, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-now-they-know-what-causes-schizophrenia/744407/5 "2016-01-27T23:55:40Z")
> [@Robert163](#):
>
> The site in Chromosome 6 harboring the gene C4 towers far above other risk-associated areas on schizophrenia’s genomic “skyline,” marking its strongest known genetic influence. The new study is the first to explain how specific gene versions work biologically to confer schizophrenia risk. Psychiatric Genomics Consortium
> Versions of a gene linked to schizophrenia may trigger runaway pruning of the teenage brain’s still-maturing communications infrastructure, NIH-funded researchers have discovered. People with the illness show fewer such connections between neurons, or synapses. The gene switched on more in people with the suspect versions, who faced a higher risk of developing the disorder, characterized by hallucinations, delusions and impaired thinking and emotions.
While it’s appreciated to be helpful in displaying what articles say to those who can’t read them, it still violates our copyright rule, so I’ve taken out almost all of it.
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### Author:  [@Robert163](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robert163)
#### Post date: [January 28, 2016, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-now-they-know-what-causes-schizophrenia/744407/6 "2016-01-28T00:47:52Z")
> [@Idle\_Thoughts](#):
>
> While it’s appreciated to be helpful in displaying what articles say to those who can’t read them, it still violates our copyright rule, so I’ve taken out almost all of it.
ok, i wasnt sure how the rule worked so i wont do it next time
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### Author:  [@treis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/treis)
#### Post date: [January 28, 2016, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-now-they-know-what-causes-schizophrenia/744407/7 "2016-01-28T01:08:54Z")
This is more of a tiny step forward than a breakthrough. They still don’t know what causes schizophrenia:
> [@](#):
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> Having such a variant, Dr. McCarroll estimates, would increase a person’s risk by about 25 percent over the 1 percent base rate of schizophrenia — that is, to 1.25 percent.
[http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/28/health/schizophrenia-cause-synaptic-pruning-brain-psychiatry.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=first-column-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news](http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/28/health/schizophrenia-cause-synaptic-pruning-brain-psychiatry.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=first-column-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news)
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### Author:  [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)
#### Post date: [January 28, 2016, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-now-they-know-what-causes-schizophrenia/744407/8 "2016-01-28T01:21:27Z")
Neat. I know the overpruning theory was considered a major factor but I didn’t know there was a particular gene behind it.
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### Author:  [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)
#### Post date: [January 28, 2016, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-now-they-know-what-causes-schizophrenia/744407/9 "2016-01-28T01:21:50Z")
I knew the geneticists were out to get me!
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### Author:  [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)
#### Post date: [January 28, 2016, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-now-they-know-what-causes-schizophrenia/744407/10 "2016-01-28T01:29:11Z")
> [@robert\_columbia](#):
>
> I knew the geneticists were out to get me!
The voices tell me that’s paranoia, not schizophrenia.