Brain Bank
A large number of the projects undertaken by the Pritzker Consortium rely on the high-quality tissue provided by the UC Irvine Brain Bank. The Brain Bank collects brains from schizophrenic, major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder subjects and controls. The Psychological Autopsy team conducts thorough clinical characterizations of cases using a 142-item protocol. Members of the Brain Bank conduct rigorous evaluation of brain tissue quality including pH and gross and microscopic neuropathological examination. Matched cohorts of rigorously characterized brains are developed. Samples from specific regions of brain, identified during carefully controlled dissection at UC Irvine, are distributed to the Pritzker Consortium scientists for ongoing investigations.
Brain Dissection
Brains are dissected at UC Irvine into various brain regions by Consortium members and barcoded for tracking purposes. The RNA and DNA are extracted from various brain regions and frozen for further studies. The tissue and samples are made available to all Consortium members for gene expression and genotyping/methylation studies. Non-human primate brains are also available for neuroanatomical comparison studies.
Brain regions for dissection in depressive, schizophrenic and control cohorts
- Frontal Pole
- Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex
- Medial Prefrontal Cortex
- Orbitofrontal Cortex
- Superior Temporal Gyrus
- Hippocampus
- Entorhinal Cortex
- Anterior Cingulate
- Subgenual Cingulate
- Amygdala
- Substantial Nigra
- Globus Pallidus
- Putamen
- Caudate
- Thalamus (Mediodorsal, Nucleus, Anterior Nucleus)
- Nucleus Accumbens
- Dorsal Raphe
- Cerebellum
- Occiptal Cortex
- Suprachiasmatic Nucleus
- Parietal Cortex
- Locus Coeruleus