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Review
. 2008 Apr;63(2):255-66.
doi: 10.1590/s1807-59322008000200015.

Is brain banking of psychiatric cases valuable for neurobiological research?

Andrea Schmitt  1 , Eleni Parlapani, Manfred Bauer, Helmut Heinsen, Peter Falkai
Affiliations
Review

Is brain banking of psychiatric cases valuable for neurobiological research?

Andrea Schmitt et al. Clinics (Sao Paulo). 2008 Apr.

Abstract

It is widely accepted that neurobiological abnormalities underlie the symptoms of psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia and unipolar or bipolar affective disorders. New molecular methods, computer-assisted quantification techniques and neurobiological investigation methods that can be applied to the human brain are all used in post-mortem investigations of psychiatric disorders. The following article describes modern quantitative methods and recent post-mortem findings in schizophrenia and affective disorders. Using our brain bank as an example, necessary considerations of modern brain banking are addressed such as ethical considerations, clinical work-up, preparation techniques and the organization of a brain bank, the value of modern brain banking for investigations of psychiatric disorders is summarized.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Dissection of the prefrontal cortex (BA46).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Dissection of the thalamus (mediodorsal nucleus).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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