Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-v9fdk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-10T09:20:45.580Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Serotonergic gene variation: implications for personality traits and psychopathology

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 September 2015

Extract

Serotonin 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) is an important regulator of morphogenetic activities during early central nervous system development, including cell proliferation, migration, and differentiation as well as synapto-genesis. Serotonergic raphe neurons diffusely project to a variety of brain regions (e.g. cortex, amygdala, hippocampus) and play known roles in integrating emotion, cognition, motor function as well as in food intake, sleep, pain, and sexual activity. The diversity of physiologic functions is due to the fact that 5-HT acts as a master control neurotransmitter within a highly complex system of neural communication mediated by multiple pre- and postsynaptic 5-HT receptors, thus orchestrating the activity and interaction of several other neurotransmitter systems. Since proteins involved in the regulation of central serotonergic activity (e.g. enzymes, receptors, transporter) play pivotal role in brain 5-HT homeostasis, polymorphisms in the regulatory regions of their genes resulting in variation of expression and function are likely to influence complex traits, such as temperament/personality and psychopathology.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Scandinavian College of Neuropsychopharmacology 1999

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Literature

1.Lappalainen, J, Long, JC, Eggert, M, et al.Linkage of antisocial alcoholism to the serotonin 5-HT IB receptor gene in 2 populations. Arch gen Psychiat 1998;55;989–94.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
2.Spurlock, G, Heils, A, Holman, P, et al.A family based association of T102C polymorphism in 5HT2A and schizophrenia plus identification of new polymorphisms in the promoter. Mol Psychiat 1998;3;42–9.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
3.Segman, RH, Ebstein, RP, Heresco-Levy, U, et al.Schizophrenia, chronic hospitalization and the 5-HT2C receptor gene. Psychiat Genet 1997;7;75–8.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
4.Holmes, C, Arranz, MJ, Powell, JF, et al.5-HT2A and 5-HT2C receptor polymorphisms and psychopathology in late onset Alzheimer's disease. Hum mol Genet 1998;7;1507–9.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
5.Lesch, KP, Bengel, D, Heils, A, et al.Association of anxiety-related traits with a polymorphism in the serotonin transporter gene regulatory region. Science 1996;274;1483–7.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
6.Lesch, KP, Mossner, R. Genetically driven variation in serotonin uptake: is there a link to affective spectrum, neurodevelopmental, and neurodegenerative disorders. Biol Psychiat 1998;44;179–92.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
7.Lesch, KP, Meyer, J, Glatz, K, et al.The 5-HT transporter gene-linked polymorphic region (5-HTTLPR) in evolutionary perspective: alternative biallelic variation in rhesus monkeys. J neural Transm 1997;104;1259–66.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
8.Deckert, J, Catalano, M, Syagailo, YV, et al.Excess of high activity monoamine oxidase A gene promoter alleles in female patients with panic disorder. Human mol Genetics 1999 (in press).Google Scholar
9.Samochowiec, J, Rottmann, M, Okladnova, O, et al.Association analysis of a functional repeat polymorphism within the promoter region of human PAX-6 gene with alcohol dependence. Alcohol clin exp Res 1998 (in press).Google Scholar
10.Bengel, D, Murphy, DL, Andrews, AM, et al.Altered brain serotonin (5-HT) homeostasis and locomotor insensitivity to MDMA (‘ecstasy’) in 5-HT transporter-deficient mice. Mol Pharmacol 1998;53;649–55.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
11.Mossner, R, Lesch, KP. Knockout mice in neuropsychopharmacology: present and future. Int J Neuropsychopharmacol 1998; 1:8792.CrossRefGoogle Scholar