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114 CHARACTERISTICS OF BRAIN AND BEHAVIORToward InterventionAs noted previously, the cause of schizophrenia is not well understood, althoughevidence implicates genetic, environmental, developmental, and nutritional factors.Most pharmacotherapies have focused on particular receptors; however, themultigenetic nature of schizophrenia suggests the development of therapeutics thattarget multiple genes and proteins involved in signal transduction. Moreover,because conventional antipsychotics are only partially effective in attenuatingpsychosis, medication development should be directed at the more specific aspectsof signal transduction associated with schizophrenia. A primary function ofthe central nervous system is cellular communication; therefore, most biochemicalpathways related to neuronal function can be viewed as contributing to theprocess of signal transduction.The last 10 to15 years have witnessed a significant advancement of the developmentand refinement of antipsychotic pharmacotherapies for schizophrenia, aswell as of our understanding of the receptor and biochemical neuropathologyassociated with the disease. Typical and atypical antipsychotic medications areeffective in attenuating negative and positive symptoms to varying degrees; however,these medications target proteins (i.e., receptors) with vast roles in cognitiveand behavioral function that limit the specificity and efficacy of thesecompounds. Future development of antipsychotic medications should selectivelytarget specific signaling cascade mechanisms, possibly improving efficacy anddiminishing side effects of these drugs. The advancement of functional genomic(measuring mRNAs) and proteomic (measuring levels of proteins) technologieswill contribute to a more comprehensive evaluation of the molecular pathologyof schizophrenia and better our understanding of orchestrated alterations in signalingcascades. In the years to come, the focus of functional genomics/proteomicsapproaches to schizophrenia should shift from regional to targeted cell assessmentto provide a more refined and detailed evaluation of molecular alterations in thisdisease. Evaluation of different cell populations within a given brain region mayalso provide insight into particular cellular vulnerabilities correlated with the disease.Finally, studies should begin to incorporate the large amounts of clinical dataavailable about subjects used in microarray analysis. Correlating clinical data suchas age, severity of illness, and type of symptoms present with molecular data mayallow for identification of specific expression profiles associated with particularfacets of the disease.The description of dysregulated gene expression begs the question of howsuch information can be translated into meaningful intervention strategies. Althoughnot currently available, the regulation of gene transcription at criticaldevelopment periods in high-risk individuals will be an important target forthe action of future pharamcotherapies. Such transcription-based strategies arelikely feasible in the near future and will provide a level of specificity heretofore