Project Summary

Colleen Ann McClung, Ph.D. (Young Investigator 2007) of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, will explore implications of research showing that a mutation in a gene called Clock in mice induces behavior very similar to the mania of human bipolar disorder. Clock, expressed in the dopamine system of neurotransmission, regulates a chemical called CCK. Clock mutant mice, in which CCK levels are abnormal, respond to lithium, a mood stabilizer used to treat bipolar disorder. Believing these findings indicate an important role for Clock in the dopaminergic system and bipolar disorder, Dr. McClung and her group will characterize mutant Clock mice and CCK mechanisms and also determine if the mice cycle between mania and depression as do bipolar patients.

Program Area: MOOD DISORDERS\Bipolar

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