Background
Associations between a functional polymorphism in the serotonin transporter gene and
amygdala activation have been found in healthy, depressed, and anxious adults. This
study explored these gene–brain associations in adolescents by examining predictive
effects of serotonin transporter gene variants (S and LG allele carriers vs. LA allele homozygotes) and their interaction with diagnosis (healthy vs. patients) on
amygdala responses to emotional faces.
Methods
Functional magnetic resonance data were collected from 33 healthy adolescents (mean
age: 13.71, 55% female) and 31 medication-free adolescents with current anxiety or
depressive disorders (or both; mean age: 13.58, 56% female) while viewing fearful,
angry, happy, and neutral facial expressions under varying attention states.
Results
A significant three-way genotype-by-diagnosis-by-face-emotion interaction characterized
right amygdala activity while subjects monitored internal fear levels. This interaction
was decomposed to map differential gene–brain associations in healthy and affected
adolescents. First, consistent with healthy adult data, healthy adolescents with at
least one copy of the S or LG allele showed stronger amygdala responses to fearful faces than healthy adolescents
without these alleles. Second, patients with two copies of the LA allele exhibited greater amygdala responses to fearful faces relative to patients
with S or LG alleles. Third, although weaker, genotype differences on amygdala responses in patients
extended to happy faces. All effects were restricted to the fear-monitoring attention
state.
Conclusions
S/LG alleles in healthy adolescents, as in healthy adults, predict enhanced amygdala activation
to fearful faces. Contrary findings of increased activation in patients with LALA relative to the S or LG alleles require further exploration.
Key words
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: October 27, 2008
Accepted:
August 28,
2008
Received in revised form:
August 28,
2008
Received:
April 2,
2008
Identification
Copyright
© 2009 Society of Biological Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
