Weickert et al (SEE ARTICLE) mapped the expression of dysbindin, a schizophrenia susceptibility gene, in postmortem brains from individuals with schizophrenia and suitable controls. They observed reduced levels of dysbindin messenger RNA in the frontal cortex and midbrain, 2 regions in which dopaminergic processes are prominent.
Rosa-Neto et al (SEE ARTICLE) measured an index of serotonin synthesis, brain regional 
-[11C] methyl-L-tryptophan trapping (K*, milliliters per gram per minute), in the areas involved in the regulation of mood in medication-free patients with a current episode of major depression. Compared with healthy men and women, normalized K* values were significantly decreased in the anterior cingulate and mesial temporal lobe. The results suggest that reduced serotonin synthesis in parts of the limbic and paralimbic cortices may contribute to the development and expression of major depression.
Mufson et al (SEE ARTICLE) conducted an effectiveness study of interpersonal psychotherapy modified for depressed adolescents (IPT-A) as compared with treatment as usual delivered in school-based health clinics serving impoverished urban communities. Adolescents treated with IPT-A as compared with treatment as usual demonstrated greater reduction in depression symptoms and greater improvement in overall functioning. School-based clinicians were able to implement a brief evidence-based treatment intervention in a real-world setting, thereby narrowing the gap between treatment conducted in the laboratory and in the community.
Butters et al (SEE ARTICLE) studied patients with late-life depression and healthy comparison subjects to characterize neuropsychological functioning in the disorder and to examine its association with putative risk factors. They found that more than half of the patients with depression exhibited significant impairment, most often in information-processing speed and visuospatial and executive abilities. Moreover, the broad-based impairments were mediated almost entirely by the slowed information-processing speed and not by factors more commonly thought to cause cognitive deficits.
Xu et al (SEE ARTICLE) found that a specific haplotype cluster of the D2 dopamine receptor gene (DRD2) was associated with high risk of heroin dependence in a Chinese case-control population. A recombination "hotspot" generated 2 daughter haplotypes associated with lower risk of heroin dependence in a German population. The results of this study helped to resolve previous contradictory findings with substance abuse and provide evidence for a functional role for the DRD2 gene in heroin dependence.
Hudziak et al (SEE ARTICLE) investigated the genetic and environmental contributions to the Obsessive-Compulsive Scale in large samples of twins aged 7, 10, and 12 years from the Netherlands Twin Registry and a sample of mixed-age twins from the Missouri Twin Study. The analyses revealed that the Obsessive-Compulsive Scale is influenced by significant additive genetic influences (approximately 45%). These findings are consistent across age, sex, and cultures.
Glasson et al (SEE ARTICLE) found an increase in obstetric complications among a population-based cohort of people with autism spectrum disorders compared with controls. Case mothers had greater frequencies of threatened abortion during pregnancy and were more likely to receive epidural caudal anesthesia and have labor induced. Case infants were more likely to experience fetal distress and be delivered by either an elective or emergency cesarean section.
