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5′ UTR-region SNP in the NTRK3 gene is associated with panic disorder

Molecular Psychiatry volume 7, pages 928–930 (2002)Cite this article

SIR – Anxiety disorders are common mental disorders, encompassing a group of psychiatric conditions that share extreme anxiety as the primary disturbance in mood or emotional tone. Those include generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder (PD), phobias, obsessive-compulsive disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder. PD arises when several apparently spontaneous panic attacks lead to a persistent concern about future attacks, worry about their implications or changes in behavior. The prevalence of PD in the general population is between 1.4 and 3%.1

There is neuroanatomical, neurophysiological, neurochemical and behavioral preclinical evidence to suggest that the development of anxiety or fear relates, in part, to increased brain noradrenergic neuronal activity. Pharmacological or electrical activation of noradrenergic neurons of the locus coeruleus (LC), the major noradrenergic nucleus in brain, has anxiogenic effects in nonhuman primates, and elevated LC neuron firing is associated with anxiety or fear responses.2,3

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References

  1. Weissman MM et al. Arch Gen Psychiatry 1997 54: 305–309

  2. Charney DS et al. J Clin Psychiatry 1990 51 Suppl A: 5–11

  3. Bremner JD et al. Synapse 1996 23: 28–38

  4. Crowe RR et al. Arch Gen Psychiatry 1983 40: 1065–1069

  5. Maier W et al. J Psychiatr Res 1993 27 Suppl 1: 79–87

  6. Gratacos M et al. Cell 2001 106: 367–379

  7. Hattori M, Nanko S . Biochem Biophys Res Commun 1995 209: 513–518

  8. Nanko S et al. Acta Psychiatr Scand 1994 89: 390–392

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Genes and Disease Program, Genomic Regulation Center (CRG), Barcelona, 08003, Catalunya, Spain

    L Armengol, M Gratacòs, M A Pujana, M Ribasés & X Estivill

  2. Department of Psychiatry, Hospital del Mar, Barcelona, 08003, Catalunya, Spain

    R Martín-Santos

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  1. L Armengol
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  2. M Gratacòs
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  3. M A Pujana
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  4. M Ribasés
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  5. R Martín-Santos
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  6. X Estivill
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Correspondence to X Estivill.

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Armengol, L., Gratacòs, M., Pujana, M. et al. 5′ UTR-region SNP in the NTRK3 gene is associated with panic disorder. Mol Psychiatry 7, 928–930 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.mp.4001134

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