| Dennis Murphy, M.D., Laboratory Chief
The Laboratory of Clinical Science (LCS) explores the neurobiology of neuropsychiatric disorders using molecular, neurochemical and genetic techniques. Its present focus links studies of transgenic mice to studies of clinical brain disorders using gene-environment interaction models. The serotonin neurotransmitter system and one of its key molecules, the serotonin transporter (SERT) is the primary target of LCS research. The development of the SERT knockout mouse in the LCS provided a new living tool to discover what the serotonin system does, as SERT and serotonin receptors are the target molecules for the largest numbers of neuropsychiatric drugs used in the world. The 30-plus neurochemical, behavioral and other phenotypic changes discovered in the serotonin knockout mouse are helping to guide the LCS and other laboratories in investigations of the more than 10 variants recently discovered in the human SERT gene. |
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