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Takahashi K, Hosoya T, Onoe K, Takashima T, Tanaka M, Ishii A, Nakatomi Y, Tazawa S, Takahashi K, Doi H, Wada Y, Watanabe Y. Association between aromatase in human brains and personality traits. Sci Rep 2018; 8:16841. [PMID: 30442903 PMCID: PMC6237866 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-35065-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2018] [Accepted: 10/22/2018] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Aromatase, an enzyme that converts androgens to estrogens, has been reported to be involved in several brain functions, including synaptic plasticity, neurogenesis, neuroprotection, and regulation of sexual and emotional behaviours in rodents, pathophysiology of Alzheimer's disease and autism spectrum disorders in humans. Aromatase has been reported to be involved in aggressive behaviours in genetically modified mice and in personality traits by genotyping studies on humans. However, no study has investigated the relationship between aromatase in living brains and personality traits including aggression. We performed a positron emission tomography (PET) study in 21 healthy subjects using 11C-cetrozole, which has high selectivity and affinity for aromatase. Before performing PET scans, subjects answered the Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire and Temperament and Character Inventory to measure their aggression and personality traits, respectively. A strong accumulation of 11C-cetrozole was detected in the thalamus, hypothalamus, amygdala, and medulla. Females showed associations between aromatase levels in subcortical regions, such as the amygdala and supraoptic nucleus of the hypothalamus, and personality traits such as aggression, novelty seeking, and self-transcendence. In contrast, males exhibited associations between aromatase levels in the cortices and harm avoidance, persistence, and self-transcendence. The association of aromatase levels in the thalamus with cooperativeness was common to both sexes. The present study suggests that there might exist associations between aromatase in the brain and personality traits. Some of these associations may differ between sexes, while others are likely common to both.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kayo Takahashi
- RIKEN Center for Life Science Technologies, 6-7-3 Minatojima-minamimachi, Chuo-ku, Kobe, Hyogo, 650-0047, Japan.,RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research, 6-7-3 Minatojima-minamimachi, Chuo-ku, Kobe, Hyogo, 650-0047, Japan.,Department of Physiology, Osaka City University Graduate School of Medicine, 1-4-3 Asahi-cho, Abeno-ku, Osaka, 545-8585, Japan
| | - Takamitsu Hosoya
- RIKEN Center for Life Science Technologies, 6-7-3 Minatojima-minamimachi, Chuo-ku, Kobe, Hyogo, 650-0047, Japan.,RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research, 6-7-3 Minatojima-minamimachi, Chuo-ku, Kobe, Hyogo, 650-0047, Japan.,Institute of Biomaterials and Bioengineering, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, (TMDU), 2-3-10 Kanda-Surugadai, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, 101-0062, Japan
| | - Kayo Onoe
- RIKEN Center for Life Science Technologies, 6-7-3 Minatojima-minamimachi, Chuo-ku, Kobe, Hyogo, 650-0047, Japan.,RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research, 6-7-3 Minatojima-minamimachi, Chuo-ku, Kobe, Hyogo, 650-0047, Japan
| | - Tadayuki Takashima
- RIKEN Center for Life Science Technologies, 6-7-3 Minatojima-minamimachi, Chuo-ku, Kobe, Hyogo, 650-0047, Japan
| | - Masaaki Tanaka
- Department of Physiology, Osaka City University Graduate School of Medicine, 1-4-3 Asahi-cho, Abeno-ku, Osaka, 545-8585, Japan
| | - Akira Ishii
- Department of Physiology, Osaka City University Graduate School of Medicine, 1-4-3 Asahi-cho, Abeno-ku, Osaka, 545-8585, Japan
| | - Yasuhito Nakatomi
- Department of Physiology, Osaka City University Graduate School of Medicine, 1-4-3 Asahi-cho, Abeno-ku, Osaka, 545-8585, Japan.,Department of Metabolism, Endocrinology and Molecular Medicine, Osaka City University Graduate School of Medicine, 1-4-3 Asahi-cho, Abeno-ku, Osaka, 545-8585, Japan
| | - Shusaku Tazawa
- RIKEN Center for Life Science Technologies, 6-7-3 Minatojima-minamimachi, Chuo-ku, Kobe, Hyogo, 650-0047, Japan
| | - Kazuhiro Takahashi
- RIKEN Center for Life Science Technologies, 6-7-3 Minatojima-minamimachi, Chuo-ku, Kobe, Hyogo, 650-0047, Japan
| | - Hisashi Doi
- RIKEN Center for Life Science Technologies, 6-7-3 Minatojima-minamimachi, Chuo-ku, Kobe, Hyogo, 650-0047, Japan.,RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research, 6-7-3 Minatojima-minamimachi, Chuo-ku, Kobe, Hyogo, 650-0047, Japan
| | - Yasuhiro Wada
- RIKEN Center for Life Science Technologies, 6-7-3 Minatojima-minamimachi, Chuo-ku, Kobe, Hyogo, 650-0047, Japan.,RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research, 6-7-3 Minatojima-minamimachi, Chuo-ku, Kobe, Hyogo, 650-0047, Japan.,Department of Physiology, Osaka City University Graduate School of Medicine, 1-4-3 Asahi-cho, Abeno-ku, Osaka, 545-8585, Japan
| | - Yasuyoshi Watanabe
- RIKEN Center for Life Science Technologies, 6-7-3 Minatojima-minamimachi, Chuo-ku, Kobe, Hyogo, 650-0047, Japan. .,RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research, 6-7-3 Minatojima-minamimachi, Chuo-ku, Kobe, Hyogo, 650-0047, Japan. .,Department of Physiology, Osaka City University Graduate School of Medicine, 1-4-3 Asahi-cho, Abeno-ku, Osaka, 545-8585, Japan.
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