Patricia Boksa, PhD, conducts research on pregnancy and birth complications as risk factors for the later development of schizophrenia. The causes of schizophrenia are unknown. However it is believed that schizophrenia is the result of faulty brain development, due to a combination of genetic factors and early environmental insults.

Patricia Boksa discovered that a seemingly innocuous birth procedure - birth by Caesarean section - is sufficient to produce long-term changes in the function of brain dopamine systems in rats and guinea pigs. These changes in dopamine function are similar to those observed in the brains of schizophrenic human subjects. With C-sections accounting for up to 25% of deliveries in North America, the clinical implications could be significant.

Her lab has shown that birth complications, like C-section birth, or a period of decreased oxygen during birth, can change the way in which an animal's brain dopamine systems responds to stress in adulthood. This may have implications for schizophrenia, since stress often plays a role in promoting symptom onset or relapse in schizophrenia.

In light of an increased incidence of schizophrenia associated with maternal infections during pregnancy, Patricia Boksa, in collaboration with Giamal Luheshi, PhD, is also exploring the role of in utero exposure to inflammatory mediators (cytokines) and fever on brain development.

Additional studies, in collaboration with Ridha Joober, MD, PhD, aim at identifying the genetic basis underlying a sensory gating deficiency related to schizophrenia.

Finally, Patricia Boksa is investigating the use of antidepressant medications during pregnancy, and their effects on central nervous system function in the offspring.