UCSF scientists studying fruit flies have uncovered a new function for a gene whose human equivalent may play a critical role in schizophrenia.

Scientists have known that the mutated form of the human gene – one of three consistently associated with schizophrenia – mildly disrupts the transmission of chemical signals between nerve cells in the brain.

But the new study, which focuses on genes involved in “adaptive plasticity”—the capacity of nerve cells to compensate for a wide range of perturbations and continue to function normally – suggests a role with a more dramatic impact.

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