Effects on the Relationship of Kynurenine Pathway Metabolites to Acoustic Startle Latency in Schizophrenia vs. Control Subjects.

Chronic infection with (TOXO) results in microcysts in the brain that are controlled by inflammatory activation and subsequent changes in the kynurenine pathway. TOXO seropositivity is associated with a heightened risk of schizophrenia (SCZ) and with cognitive impairments. Latency of the acoustic startle response, a putative index of neural processing speed, is slower in SCZ.