Network Synchronization/Desynchronization Defects in the Pathogenesis of Neuropsychiatric Disorders

Classical theory maintained that all significant information transmission in the central nervous system was implemented by the movement of neurotransmitters at axon-to-dendrite synapses. It is now understood that this is an incomplete description. An alternative understanding incorporates other forms of information transmission and emphasizes the role of synchronization in organizing CNS activity. This expanded view has immediate implications for the clinical response to neuropsychiatric disorders. Treatment of neuropsychiatric disorders should not focus exclusively oil neurotransmitters acting at chemical synapses. Rather, the focus should expand to include a generic examination of network dysfunction. CNS network defects will, it is hypothesized, result in abnormalities of synchronization that may be diagnostically disclosing.