Frontal-limbic white matter pathway associations with the serotonin transporter gene promoter region (5-HTTLPR) polymorphism

J Neurosci. 2009 May 13;29(19):6229-33. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0896-09.2009.

Abstract

Variation in the serotonin transporter gene-linked polymorphic region (5-HTTLPR) has been associated with heightened neural activity in limbic and prefrontal regions in response to emotional stimuli. The current study examined whether the 5-HTTLPR polymorphism is also associated with alterations in microstructure of frontal-limbic white matter (WM) tracts. Thirty-seven (mean age, 20.51 years; range, 13-28) female participants were genotyped for the 5-HTTLPR polymorphism. Diffusion MRI was collected and a probabilistically defined tract of the uncinate fasciculus (UF), a WM pathway connecting the amygdala to medial and orbital prefrontal cortex, was used to generate fractional anisotropy (FA) values for participants. Regression analyses indicated a significant inverse association between number of low-expressing 5-HTTLPR alleles and FA values for the left frontal UF region, beta = - 0.42, p = 0.005. Furthermore, there was a positive association between age and FA values for bilateral frontal regions of the UF; these effects explained 39 and 20% of the variance in FA values for left and right frontal regions, respectively. 5-HTTLPR genotype and age appear to independently influence the WM microstructure of the UF. The observed reduction in FA values among low-expressing 5-HTTLPR allele carriers may contribute to biased regulation of emotional stimuli.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Aging
  • Alleles
  • Amygdala / anatomy & histology*
  • Amygdala / physiology
  • Anisotropy
  • Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging
  • Ethnicity / genetics
  • Female
  • Functional Laterality / genetics
  • Functional Laterality / physiology
  • Genotype
  • Humans
  • Neural Pathways / anatomy & histology
  • Neural Pathways / physiology
  • Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide*
  • Prefrontal Cortex / anatomy & histology*
  • Prefrontal Cortex / physiology
  • Promoter Regions, Genetic*
  • Racial Groups / genetics
  • Regression Analysis
  • Serotonin Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins / genetics*
  • Young Adult

Substances

  • SLC6A4 protein, human
  • Serotonin Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins