Neuroscientists have discovered abnormal neural activity in the brain that may cause people with schizophrenia to experience unorganized thought processes, according to a study published in the journal Neuron.

Researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), led by Susumu Tonegawa, conducted a mouse study in which they found that mice lacking a brain protein called calcineurin experienced hyperactive brain-wave oscillations in the hippocampus when resting.

According to the researchers, previous studies have identified mutations in the gene for calcineurin in schizophrenic patients. Over 10 years ago, the researchers decided to create mice who were lacking this gene in their forebrain.

The researchers found that these mice showed many symptoms of schizophrenia that is present in humans, including impaired short-term memory, attention deficits and abnormal social behavior.

For this most recent study, the researchers monitored the electrical activity of individual neurons in the hippocampus of the mice, while they ran along a track.

Previous research has shown that normal mice have “place cells” present in their hippocampus, the study authors note.

These cells demonstrate a “mental replay” of specific locations along a running track, firing in sequence as a mouse rests from the running course and when they are sleeping. These mental replays are linked to very high frequency brain-wave oscillations known as “ripple events.”