Gene expression of L3 and L5 pyramidal neurons in the DLPFC comparing schizophrenia from bipolar major depressive disorders and unaffected subjects.

Impairments in certain cognitive processes (e.g., working memory) are typically most pronounced in schizophrenia (SZ), intermediate in bipolar disorder (BP) and least in major depressive disorder (MDD). Given that working memory depends, in part, on neural circuitry that includes pyramidal neurons in layer 3 (L3) and layer 5 (L5) of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), we sought to determine if transcriptome alterations in these neurons were shared or distinctive for each diagnosis. We collected brain specimens (n=76) with SZ (n=19; 6 had schizoaffective disorder), BP (n=19; all had bipolar 1 disorder) or MDD (n=19) and UC subjects (n=19) which were matched as tetrads for sex and as closely as possible for age. Each subject has 2 technique replicates.