Review abstract

Nature Neuroscience 10, 1103 - 1109 (2007)
Published online: 28 August 2007 | doi:10.1038/nn1964

Long story short: the serotonin transporter in emotion regulation and social cognition

Turhan Canli1,2 & Klaus-Peter Lesch3

Focus on Emotion and Disorders of Emotion

Focus issue:
Sep 2007 Volume 10, No 9

The gene encoding the serotonin transporter (5-HTT) contains a regulatory variation that has been associated with anxiety-related traits and susceptibility for depression. Here we highlight recent discoveries related to allelic variation of 5-HTT function with respect to emotion regulation and social behavior, drawing from an interdisciplinary perspective of behavioral genetics and cognitive neuroscience. Following a reductionistic path that leads from gene-behavior association studies to neuroimaging and epigenetic studies, we compare two models of 5-HTT-dependent modulation of brain activity and discuss the role of life stress experience in modifying 5-HTT function in the brain. Integration of these findings suggests that the impact of the 5-HTT gene on behavior is much broader than is commonly appreciated and may have a role in social cognition.

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  1. Graduate Program in Genetics, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York 11794-2500, USA.
  2. Department of Psychology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York 11794-2500, USA.
  3. Molecular and Clinical Psychobiology, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Würzburg, Füchsleinstrasse 15, 97080 Würzburg, Germany.

Correspondence to: Turhan Canli1,2 e-mail: turhan.canli@sunysb.edu

Correspondence to: Klaus-Peter Lesch3 e-mail: kplesch@mail.uni-wuerzburg.de

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