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Xia Z, Cao Z, Surento W, Zhang L, Qiu L, Xu Q, Zhang L, Li L, Cao Y, Luo Y, Lu G, Qi R. Relationship between SLC6A2 gene polymorphisms and brain volume in Han Chinese adults who lost their sole child. BMC Psychiatry 2024; 24:11. [PMID: 38166870 PMCID: PMC10763183 DOI: 10.1186/s12888-023-05467-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/13/2023] [Accepted: 12/18/2023] [Indexed: 01/05/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Norepinephrine transporter (NET) is encoded by the SLC6A2 gene and is a potential target for studying the pathogenesis of PTSD. To the best of our knowledge, no prior investigations have examined SLC6A2 polymorphism-related neuroimaging abnormalities in PTSD patients. METHODS In 218 Han Chinese adults who had lost their sole child, we investigated the association between the T-182 C SLC6A2 genotype and gray matter volume (GMV). Participants included 57 PTSD sufferers and 161 non-PTSD sufferers, and each group was further separated into three subgroups based on each participant's SLC6A2 genotype (TT, CT, and CC). All participants received magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and clinical evaluation. To assess the effects of PTSD diagnosis, genotype, and genotype × diagnosis interaction on GMV, 2 × 3 full factorial designs were used. Pearson's correlations were used to examine the association between GMV and CAPS, HAMD, and HAMA. RESULTS The SLC6A2 genotype showed significant main effects on GMV of the left superior parietal gyrus (SPG) and the bilateral middle cingulate gyrus (MCG). Additionally, impacts of the SLC6A2 genotype-diagnosis interaction were discovered in the left superior frontal gyrus (SFG). The CAPS, HAMA, and HAMD scores, as well as the genotype main effect and diagnostic SLC6A2 interaction, did not significantly correlate with each other. CONCLUSION These findings indicate a modulatory effect that the SLC6A2 polymorphism exerts on the SPG and MCG, irrespective of PTSD diagnosis. We found evidence to suggest that the SLC6A2 genotype-diagnosis interaction on SFG may potentially contribute to PTSD pathogenesis in adults who lost their sole child.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhuoman Xia
- Department of Medical Imaging, Jinling Hospital, Affiliated Hospital of Medical School, Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, 210002, China
| | - Zhihong Cao
- Department of Radiology, the Affiliated Yixing Hospital of Jiangsu University, 75 Tongzhenguan Road, Wuxi, Wuxi, 214200, China
| | - Wesley Surento
- Imaging Genetics Center, Mark and Mary Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute, University of Southern California, Marina del Rey, Los Angeles, CA, 90292, USA
| | - Li Zhang
- Mental Health Institute, the Second Xiangya Hospital, Key Laboratory of Psychiatry and Mental Health of Hunan Province, National Technology Institute of Psychiatry, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, 410011, China
| | - Lianli Qiu
- Department of Medical Imaging, Jinling Hospital, Affiliated Hospital of Medical School, Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, 210002, China
| | - Qiang Xu
- Department of Medical Imaging, Jinling Hospital, Affiliated Hospital of Medical School, Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, 210002, China
| | - Longjiang Zhang
- Department of Medical Imaging, Jinling Hospital, Affiliated Hospital of Medical School, Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, 210002, China
| | - Lingjiang Li
- Mental Health Institute, the Second Xiangya Hospital, Key Laboratory of Psychiatry and Mental Health of Hunan Province, National Technology Institute of Psychiatry, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, 410011, China
| | - Yang Cao
- College of Arts & Science, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, 37235, USA
| | - Yifeng Luo
- Department of Radiology, the Affiliated Yixing Hospital of Jiangsu University, 75 Tongzhenguan Road, Wuxi, Wuxi, 214200, China.
| | - Guangming Lu
- Department of Medical Imaging, Jinling Hospital, Affiliated Hospital of Medical School, Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, 210002, China.
| | - Rongfeng Qi
- Department of Medical Imaging, Jinling Hospital, Affiliated Hospital of Medical School, Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, 210002, China.
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Iriki A, Tramacere A. “Natural Laboratory Complex” for novel primate neuroscience. Front Integr Neurosci 2022; 16:927605. [PMID: 36274659 PMCID: PMC9581230 DOI: 10.3389/fnint.2022.927605] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2022] [Accepted: 08/23/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
We propose novel strategies for primate experimentation that are ethically valuable and pragmatically useful for cognitive neuroscience and neuropsychiatric research. Specifically, we propose Natural Laboratory Complex or Natural Labs, which are a combination of indoor-outdoor structures for studying free moving and socially housed primates in natural or naturalistic environment. We contend that Natural Labs are pivotal to improve primate welfare, and at the same time to implement longitudinal and socio-ecological studies of primate brain and behavior. Currently emerging advanced technologies and social systems (including recent COVID-19 induced “remote” infrastructures) can speed-up cognitive neuroscience approaches in freely behaving animals. Experimental approaches in natural(istic) settings are not in competition with conventional approaches of laboratory investigations, and could establish several benefits at the ethical, experimental, and economic levels.
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Affiliation(s)
- Atsushi Iriki
- Laboratory for Symbolic Cognitive Development, RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research, Kobe, Japan
- *Correspondence: Atsushi Iriki,
| | - Antonella Tramacere
- Department of Philosophy and Communication Studies, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
- Department of Cultural and Linguistic Evolution, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany
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Niego A, Benítez-Burraco A. Autism and Williams syndrome: Dissimilar socio-cognitive profiles with similar patterns of abnormal gene expression in the blood. AUTISM : THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF RESEARCH AND PRACTICE 2020; 25:464-489. [PMID: 33143449 DOI: 10.1177/1362361320965074] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
LAY ABSTRACT Autism spectrum disorders and Williams syndrome are complex cognitive conditions exhibiting quite opposite features in the social domain: whereas people with autism spectrum disorders are mostly hyposocial, subjects with Williams syndrome are usually reported as hypersocial. At the same time, autism spectrum disorders and Williams syndrome share some common underlying behavioral and cognitive deficits. It is not clear, however, which genes account for the attested differences (and similarities) in the socio-cognitive domain. In this article, we adopted a comparative molecular approach and looked for genes that might be differentially (or similarly) regulated in the blood of people with these conditions. We found a significant overlap between genes dysregulated in the blood of patients compared to neurotypical controls, with most of them being upregulated or, in some cases, downregulated. Still, genes with similar expression trends can exhibit quantitative differences between conditions, with most of them being more dysregulated in Williams syndrome than in autism spectrum disorders. Differentially expressed genes are involved in aspects of brain development and function (particularly dendritogenesis) and are expressed in brain areas (particularly the cerebellum, the thalamus, and the striatum) of relevance for the autism spectrum disorder and the Williams syndrome etiopathogenesis. Overall, these genes emerge as promising candidates for the similarities and differences between the autism spectrum disorder and the Williams syndrome socio-cognitive profiles.
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Niego A, Benítez-Burraco A. Autism and Williams syndrome: truly mirror conditions in the socio-cognitive domain? INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES 2020; 68:399-415. [PMID: 35937179 PMCID: PMC9351567 DOI: 10.1080/20473869.2020.1817717] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2020] [Revised: 08/25/2020] [Accepted: 08/27/2020] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and Williams Syndrome (WS) are frequently characterized as mirror conditions in the socio-cognitive domain, with ASD entailing restrictive social interests and with WS exhibiting hypersociability. In this review paper, we examine in detail the strong points and deficits of people with ASD or WS in the socio-cognitive domain and show that both conditions also share some common features. Moreover, we explore the neurobiological basis of the social profile of ASD and WS and found a similar mixture of common affected areas and condition-specific impaired regions. We discuss these findings under the hypothesis of a continuum of the socio-cognitive abilities in humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amy Niego
- Faculty of Philology, University of Seville, Seville, Spain
| | - Antonio Benítez-Burraco
- Department of Spanish, Linguistics, and Theory of Literature (Linguistics), Faculty of Philology, University of Seville, Seville, Spain
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