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Study Helps Confirm Role of Kynurenic Acid in Schizophrenia and Why Smoking Relieves Symptoms

(Great Neck, N.Y. - June 15, 2009) — Levels of a substance called kynurenic acid (KYNA) are elevated in the brain and cerebrospinal fluid of people with schizophrenia and Alzheimer’s disease, and KYNA had been suspected of a role in the cognitive dysfunction characteristic of both these disorders.

Now, studies by NARSAD Investigator David Bucci, Ph.D., and colleagues in Dartmouth College’s department of psychological and brain sciences, have shown that elevated concentrations of endogenous KYNA interfere with contextual learning and memory. The findings were reported in the March 19 online edition of the journal Behavioural Brain Research.

In Dr. Bucci’s experiments, rats received injections of solutions of l-kynurenine (L-KYN), the precursor for KYNA. Administration of L-KYN has been shown to produce clinically relevant increases in KYNA concentration. The treated rats exhibited impaired contextual fear memory compared to control rats. In an experiment in which the rats were trained to discriminate between two different training environments, one in which foot shock was delivered and one that was not paired with foot shock, both groups eventually learned the discrimination, but learning was slower in L-KYN-treated rats.

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