Bergen-based researcher contributes to important breakthrough in neuropsychiatric disorders

Sadaf Ghorbani is part of an international research team with groundbreaking findings on neuropsychiatric disorders. The findings are now published in Nature and could provide valuable insights into the development of new medicines.

Text: Gyrid Nygård and Elise Aasebø

Published 4/15/2025

Photo of Sadaf Ghorbani. — Sadaf Ghorbani is a researcher at the Division of Psychiatry at Haukeland University Hospital (HUH) and the Mohn Research Centre for Regenerative Medicine (MRCRM), and she is affiliated with the Bergen Center for Medical Stem Cell Research (BSMS) at the University of Bergen (UiB). She is currently on an exchange at Yale University and is a co-author of an article recently published in Nature.

Groundbreaking Use of Stem Cell Models

For several years, Sadaf Ghorbani has collaborated with researchers in the USA to study so-called NRXN1 mutations. These mutations code for an important protein that affects brain signals. Mutations in this gene are associated with a range of neuropsychiatric disorders, including schizophrenia. By using advanced stem cell models, Ghorbani and her colleagues in the USA have shown that NRXN1 mutations can both reduce and increase synaptic activity, depending on the type of brain cell.

Hope for a Paradigm Shift in Neuropsychiatric Treatment

- Our research gives hope for more targeted treatment of neuropsychiatric disorders, says Ghorbani.

- In our study, we show how mutations in the NRXN1 gene can have opposite effects depending on the cell type – in some cases, the activity between nerve cells is weakened, while in other cases it is strengthened.

Project leader in Bergen, chief physician at the Division of Psychiatry at Haukeland University Hospital (HUH) and Professor at UiB Erik Johnsen, agrees;

- Today's neuropsychiatric medications are largely aimed at symptom relief, but these findings could pave the way for new treatment methods that address some of the causes of these conditions. This could lead to a paradigm shift in neuropsychiatric treatment – where medications not only manage symptoms but actually contribute to a cure.

Photo of Einar Kristoffersen and Erik Johnsen in a hallway — Professor Einar K. Kristoffersen, head of MRCRM and head of the Department of Immunology and Transfusion Medicine at HUH, and chief physician and professor Erik Johnsen, head of the BPRG research group at the Division of Psychiatry and partner in MRCRM, are pleased with the findings now presented in Nature.

International Collaboration Strengthens Research

Ghorbani is currently on a research stay at Yale University, made possible through funding from the Trond Mohn Research Foundation in collaboration with HUH and UiB. Randi-Luise Møgster, director of the Division of Psychiatry at HUH, emphasizes the importance of such partnerships:

- Research is one of the core tasks of Haukeland University Hospital, and this study illustrates how research mobility strengthens the quality of our work. Collaboration between institutions provides access to unique resources and perspectives that enable important advances and can lead to better and more precise treatment for our patients.

Here is the link to the study >>

Contact Information

Erik Johnsen
Email: erik.johnsen@helse-bergen.no