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This study aimed to examine verbal and visual-spatial working memory (WM) dysfunction in patients with schizophrenia. We compared 60 patients with schizophrenia with 57 healthy controls (matched for age, educational level, and IQ) on three WM tasks. Patients with schizophrenia performed significantly more poorly than healthy controls on verbal, visual, and spatial WM tests. Moreover, WM deficits were inversely associated with both the positive and negative symptoms of the patients. Taken together, these findings suggest that there are pervasive WM impairments in patients with schizophrenia. In addition, clinical features may play a significant role in the expression of WM deficits.

In this study, a new method for fabricating 3-D polyacrylamide gel microarrays was presented. In the method, a 3-D gel microarray was successfully fabricated by directly heating the slides with arrayed prepolymer at 80 degrees C for 2 min. The prepolymer on the microarray only contained 40% v/v raw/unpurified PCR products, 1.4% ammonium persulfate (APS), 6% acrylamide, and 20% glycerol and the balance H2O but no TEMED. The heat could induce the free radicals from APS to initiate polymerization of the 3-D gel and allow the incorporation of raw PCR products into the 3-D gel. The immobilized DNA on the gel microarray had the specificity of hybridization and the ability to distinguish base mismatch. It has been demonstrated that SNP genotyping of both the 194072 loci and the 252944 loci in the beta2 subunit gene of gamma-aminobutyric acid A receptor (GABRB2) gene was successfully performed by using the 3-D gel microarray. This method is efficient, simple, rapid, and easy to control in preparing a 3-D gel microarray, which would be widely used for various purposes in laboratory research and clinic application.

Although emerging evidence has suggested an association between the Val66Met (rs6265) polymorphisms in brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) gene and the panic disorder, the conclusion is inclusive given the mixed results. This meta-analysis reviewed and analyzed the recent studies addressing the potential association between the Val66Met polymorphisms and panic disorder susceptibility. Related case-control studies were retrieved by database searching and selected according to established inclusion criteria. Six articles were identified, which explored the association between the BDNF Val66Met polymorphism and panic disorder. Statistical analyses revealed no association for the allele contrast and the dominant model. However, the recessive model showed a significant association between the BDNF Val66Met polymorphism and panic disorder (odds ratio = 1.26, 95% confidence interval = 1.04-1.52, z = 2.39, P = 0.02). Despite of some limitations, this meta-analysis suggests that the Val66Met polymorphism of BDNF gene is a susceptibility factor for panic disorder.