In support of this hypothesis, studies have suggested that atypical antipsychotic pretreatment attenuated the rate of apoptosis in neural cells in vitro [113] and antipsychotic treatment in schizophrenia was associated with higher cortical levels of the anti-apoptotic marker Bcl-2, compared to antipsychotic-naïve subjects [114]. This evidence concerns the gene BCL2 and schizophrenia.