This Project Grant award from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), titled "ELUCIDATING CHOLINERGIC RELATIONSHIPS WITH PSYCHOSIS AND COGNITIVE DEFICITS IN SCHIZOPHRENIA," aims to provide a better understanding of the role of the cholinergic system in the symptoms of schizophrenia. The $797,210 award to Stony Brook University will fund a 5-year study using Positron Emission Tomography (PET) imaging to measure cholinergic neurotransmitter levels and relate them to positive psychotic symptoms and working memory deficits in a sample of 40 schizophrenia patients and 20 healthy controls. If successful, this research could identify the vesicular acetylcholine transporter (VACHT) as a reliable biological indicator of key schizophrenia features, potentially enabling new diagnostic and treatment approaches. The award is funded under CFDA 93.242, the NIMH's Mental Health Research Grants program, which supports a broad range of research initiatives to understand, prevent, and treat mental health disorders.
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