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Five years ago, we reported that a virus may be responsible for schizophrenia. Now there’s evidence that someday, we may be able to cure autism and schizophrenia with a vaccine. That’s the good news. The bad news: housework is good for your mental health!

In Scientific American, Melinda Wenner writes: “The strongest evidence pertains to schizophrenia, but autism, bipolar disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder have also been linked to bacterial, viral or parasitic infections in utero, in childhood or in maturity.”

Why do some people develop schizophrenia? Children of women who undergo an extremely stressful event?such as the death of a close relative?during the first trimester of pregnancy appear more likely to develop it.
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Japanese researchers have found that a single virus causes behavioral changes in mice that are similar to those of people with mental illness. Viruses have long been suspected of playing a role in psychiatric disorders, but until now, there’s been no proof. A protein produced by the common human virus called the Borna disease virus (BDV) is one suspect. Keizo Tomonaga inserted the gene for the virus into mouse embryos, and these mice developed cognitive disorders, and grew up to be more aggressive and hyperactive.

The cells that are affected by BDV are the ones that are involved in forming and maintaining nerve connections in the brain. Major psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia are also characterized by dysfunction in these cells.
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