Abstract
Major depression is conditionally linked to a polymorphism of the human serotonin transporter gene (SLC6A4). During the presentation of aversive, but not pleasant, pictures, healthy carriers of the SLC6A4 short (s) allele showed stronger activation of the amygdala on functional magnetic resonance imaging. s carriers also showed greater coupling between the amygdala and the ventromedial prefrontal cortex, which may contribute to the abnormally high activity in the amygdala and medial prefrontal cortex seen in major depression.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 12 print issues and online access
$209.00 per year
only $17.42 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Lesch, K.P. et al. Science 274, 1527–1531 (1996).
Garpenstrand, H., Annas, P., Ekblom, J., Oreland, L. & Fredrikson, M. Behav. Neurosci. 115, 358–364 (2001).
Caspi, A. et al. Science 301, 386–389 (2003).
Hariri, A.R. et al. Science 297, 400–403 (2002).
Amaral, D.G. & Prince, J.L. J. Comp. Neurol. 230, 465–496 (1984).
Drevets, W.C. Ann. NY Acad. Sci. 985, 420–444 (2003).
Pinto, A.O. & Sesack, S.R. Ann. NY Acad. Sci. 985, 542–544 (2003).
Center for the Study of Emotion and Attention, National Institute of Mental Health. The International Affective Picture System, Photographic Slides (Centers for Research in Psychophysiology, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, 1999).
Bradley, M.M. & Lang, P.J. J. Behav. Ther. Exp. Psychiatry 25, 49–59 (1994).
Taylor, S.F., Phan, K.L., Decker, L.R. & Liberzon, I. Neuroimage 18, 650–659 (2003).
Hamann, S.B., Ely, T.D., Grafton, S.T. & Kilts, C.D. Nat. Neurosci. 2, 289–293 (1999).
Friston, K.J. et al. Neuroimage 6, 218–229 (1997).
Winston, J.S., O'Doherty, J. & Dolan, R.J. Neuroimage 20, 84–97 (2003).
Irwin, W. et al. Neuroimage 21, 674–686 (2004).
Acknowledgements
This work was supported in part by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (He 2597/4-2) and the Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung (01GQ0411 and 01GS0475).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Competing interests
The authors declare no competing financial interests.
Supplementary information
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Heinz, A., Braus, D., Smolka, M. et al. Amygdala-prefrontal coupling depends on a genetic variation of the serotonin transporter. Nat Neurosci 8, 20–21 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1038/nn1366
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nn1366
This article is cited by
-
Stress-related cellular pathophysiology as a crosstalk risk factor for neurocognitive and psychiatric disorders
BMC Neuroscience (2023)
-
Relationships between serotonin availability and frontolimbic response to fearful and threatening faces
Scientific Reports (2023)
-
Effects of Stress and Genetic Predisposition on Symptoms of Psychopathology
Neuroscience and Behavioral Physiology (2023)
-
Studies of the 5-HTTLPR Serotonin Transporter Polymorphism (literature review)
Neuroscience and Behavioral Physiology (2022)
-
Serotonin-related rodent models of early-life exposure relevant for neurodevelopmental vulnerability to psychiatric disorders
Translational Psychiatry (2021)