Fig. 1

Dendritic spines and synapses in SCZ and CON cortical neurons. A,B Images of dendritic spines in SCZ and CON neurons, labeled with layer III marker CUX1 or layer V marker CTIP2 and MAP2—arrows point to representative spines. C Automated quantification of spine density in dendrites in CUX1 or CTIP2 neurons from seven CON and seven SCZ lines, with three replicates each (box and whisker plot min to max, p < 0.001, unpaired t-test with Welch’s correction). D,E Images of synaptic puncta in SCZ and CON neurons, labeled with layer III marker CUX1 or layer V marker CTIP2, MAP2, presynaptic marker Bassoon (red) and postsynaptic marker Homer (green)—arrows point to representative synaptic puncta with overlap of Bassoon and Homer. F Automated quantification of synaptic puncta in neurons from seven CON and seven SCZ lines. SCZ neurons showed significantly fewer synapses compared for both CUX1 and CTIP2 neurons (dot plots, mean + / − SEM, p < 0.001, unpaired t-test with Welch’s correction). Scale bar = 20μm. G Images of Ca⁺⁺ imaging in CON and SCZ neurons before and after 30 mM KCl. Scale bar = 100μm. H Trace of Ca.⁺⁺ fluorophore intensity before and after KCl. I Change in fluorescence intensity in cell bodies upon KCl exposure. SCZ neurons had lower increase in fluorescence intensity after KCl (mean + / − SEM, p < 0.001, Mann–Whitney U test)