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

Nature Neuroscience volume 10, pages 1103–1109 (2007)Cite this article

Abstract

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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Figure 1: Allelic variation of serotonin transporter (5-HTT) function in anxiety-related personality disorders, depression and other disorders of emotion regulation.
Figure 2: The standard 'phasic' versus the 'tonic' model of 5-HTT-dependent modulation of brain activity.
Figure 3
Figure 4: Degree of variation in two genes of the serotonin signaling pathway (serotonin transporter, 5-HTTLPR; monoamine oxidase A, MAOALPR), aggression and social organization in seven macaque species.
Figure 5: Influence of interaction between SLC6A4 and environment on neural networks of social cognition and emotion regulation.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank G. Lesch for designing graphics and artwork. The writing of this article and the authors' related research were supported by grants from the European Commission (NEWMOOD LSHM-CT-2003-503474), Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung (IZKF 01 KS 9603) and the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (SFB 581, KFO 125) to K.-P.L. and by grants from the General Clinical Research Center (5-MO1-RR-10710) and the US National Science Foundation (BCS-0224221) to T.C.

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  1. Graduate Program in Genetics, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York 11794-2500, USA.,

    Turhan Canli

  2. Department of Psychology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, 11794-2500, New York, USA

    Turhan Canli

  3. Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Molecular and Clinical Psychobiology, University of Würzburg, Füchsleinstrasse 15, 97080 Würzburg, Germany.,

    Klaus-Peter Lesch

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Canli, T., Lesch, KP. Long story short: the serotonin transporter in emotion regulation and social cognition. Nat Neurosci 10, 1103–1109 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1038/nn1964

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