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Dimitriadis SI, Perry G, Lancaster TM, Tansey KE, Singh KD, Holmans P, Pocklington A, Davey Smith G, Zammit S, Hall J, O’Donovan MC, Owen MJ, Jones DK, Linden DE. Genetic risk for schizophrenia is associated with increased proportion of indirect connections in brain networks revealed by a semi-metric analysis: evidence from population sample stratified for polygenic risk. Cereb Cortex 2023; 33:2997-3011. [PMID: 35830871 PMCID: PMC10016061 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhac256] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/16/2022] [Revised: 05/30/2022] [Accepted: 05/31/2022] [Indexed: 02/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Research studies based on tractography have revealed a prominent reduction of asymmetry in some key white-matter tracts in schizophrenia (SCZ). However, we know little about the influence of common genetic risk factors for SCZ on the efficiency of routing on structural brain networks (SBNs). Here, we use a novel recall-by-genotype approach, where we sample young adults from a population-based cohort (ALSPAC:N genotyped = 8,365) based on their burden of common SCZ risk alleles as defined by polygenic risk score (PRS). We compared 181 individuals at extremes of low (N = 91) or high (N = 90) SCZ-PRS under a robust diffusion MRI-based graph theoretical SBN framework. We applied a semi-metric analysis revealing higher SMR values for the high SCZ-PRS group compared with the low SCZ-PRS group in the left hemisphere. Furthermore, a hemispheric asymmetry index showed a higher leftward preponderance of indirect connections for the high SCZ-PRS group compared with the low SCZ-PRS group (PFDR < 0.05). These findings might indicate less efficient structural connectivity in the higher genetic risk group. This is the first study in a population-based sample that reveals differences in the efficiency of SBNs associated with common genetic risk variants for SCZ.
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Affiliation(s)
- S I Dimitriadis
- Neuroscience and Mental Health Research Institute (NMHI), College of Biomedical and Life Sciences, Cardiff University, Maindy Road CF24 4HQ, Cardiff, Wales, UK
- Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre (CUBRIC), School of Psychology, College of Biomedical and Life Sciences, Cardiff University, Maindy Road CF24 4HQ, Cardiff, Wales, UK
- Division of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences, MRC Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics, Cardiff School of Medicine, Cardiff University, Maindy Road CF24 4HQ, Cardiff, Wales, UK
- Neuroinformatics Group, School of Psychology, College of Biomedical and Life Sciences, Cardiff University, Maindy Road CF24 4HQ, Cardiff, Wales, UK
| | - G Perry
- Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre (CUBRIC), School of Psychology, College of Biomedical and Life Sciences, Cardiff University, Maindy Road CF24 4HQ, Cardiff, Wales, UK
| | - T M Lancaster
- Neuroscience and Mental Health Research Institute (NMHI), College of Biomedical and Life Sciences, Cardiff University, Maindy Road CF24 4HQ, Cardiff, Wales, UK
- Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre (CUBRIC), School of Psychology, College of Biomedical and Life Sciences, Cardiff University, Maindy Road CF24 4HQ, Cardiff, Wales, UK
- Department of Psychology, Bath University, Claverton Down BA2 7AY, Bath, Wales, UK
| | - K E Tansey
- MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit (IEU), University of Bristol, Queens Road BS8 1QU, Bristol, Wales, UK
| | - K D Singh
- Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre (CUBRIC), School of Psychology, College of Biomedical and Life Sciences, Cardiff University, Maindy Road CF24 4HQ, Cardiff, Wales, UK
| | - P Holmans
- Division of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences, MRC Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics, Cardiff School of Medicine, Cardiff University, Maindy Road CF24 4HQ, Cardiff, Wales, UK
| | - A Pocklington
- Division of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences, MRC Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics, Cardiff School of Medicine, Cardiff University, Maindy Road CF24 4HQ, Cardiff, Wales, UK
| | - G Davey Smith
- MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit (IEU), University of Bristol, Queens Road BS8 1QU, Bristol, Wales, UK
- Population Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, 1-5 Whiteladies Road BS8 1NU, Bristol, Wales, UK
| | - S Zammit
- Division of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences, MRC Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics, Cardiff School of Medicine, Cardiff University, Maindy Road CF24 4HQ, Cardiff, Wales, UK
- Population Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, 1-5 Whiteladies Road BS8 1NU, Bristol, Wales, UK
| | - J Hall
- Neuroscience and Mental Health Research Institute (NMHI), College of Biomedical and Life Sciences, Cardiff University, Maindy Road CF24 4HQ, Cardiff, Wales, UK
- Division of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences, MRC Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics, Cardiff School of Medicine, Cardiff University, Maindy Road CF24 4HQ, Cardiff, Wales, UK
| | - M C O’Donovan
- Neuroscience and Mental Health Research Institute (NMHI), College of Biomedical and Life Sciences, Cardiff University, Maindy Road CF24 4HQ, Cardiff, Wales, UK
- Division of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences, MRC Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics, Cardiff School of Medicine, Cardiff University, Maindy Road CF24 4HQ, Cardiff, Wales, UK
| | - M J Owen
- Neuroscience and Mental Health Research Institute (NMHI), College of Biomedical and Life Sciences, Cardiff University, Maindy Road CF24 4HQ, Cardiff, Wales, UK
- Division of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences, MRC Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics, Cardiff School of Medicine, Cardiff University, Maindy Road CF24 4HQ, Cardiff, Wales, UK
| | - D K Jones
- Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre (CUBRIC), School of Psychology, College of Biomedical and Life Sciences, Cardiff University, Maindy Road CF24 4HQ, Cardiff, Wales, UK
| | - D E Linden
- Neuroscience and Mental Health Research Institute (NMHI), College of Biomedical and Life Sciences, Cardiff University, Maindy Road CF24 4HQ, Cardiff, Wales, UK
- Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre (CUBRIC), School of Psychology, College of Biomedical and Life Sciences, Cardiff University, Maindy Road CF24 4HQ, Cardiff, Wales, UK
- Division of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences, MRC Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics, Cardiff School of Medicine, Cardiff University, Maindy Road CF24 4HQ, Cardiff, Wales, UK
- Population Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, 1-5 Whiteladies Road BS8 1NU, Bristol, Wales, UK
- School for Mental Health and Neuroscience, Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences, Maastricht University, Universiteitssingel 40 UNS40 6229 ER, Maastricht, The Netherlands
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Hadden LM, Penny H, Jones AL, Partridge AM, Lancaster TM, Allen C. Pre-frontal stimulation does not reliably increase reward responsiveness. Cortex 2023; 159:268-285. [PMID: 36669446 PMCID: PMC10823575 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2022.11.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/04/2022] [Revised: 10/17/2022] [Accepted: 11/25/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Depression is the leading cause of disability worldwide and its effects can be fatal, with over 800,000 people dying by suicide each year. Neuromodulatory treatments such as transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) are being used to treat depression. Despite its endorsement by two regulatory bodies: NICE (2016) and the FDA (2008), there are major questions about the treatment efficacy and biological mechanisms of TMS. Ahn et al.'s (2013) justified the use of TMS in a clinical context in an important study indicating that excitatory TMS increases reward responsiveness. A pseudo-replication of this study by Duprat et al., (2016) also found a similar effect of active TMS, but only with the addition of an exploratory covariate to the analyses-trait reward responsiveness. Here we replicate Ahn et al.'s (2013) key study, and to test the reliability of the effects, and their dependency on trait reward responsiveness as described by Duprat et al., (2016). Using excitatory and sham TMS, we tested volunteers using the probabilistic learning task to measure their reward responsiveness both before and after stimulation. We also examined affect (positive, negative) following stimulation. Irrespective of TMS, the task was shown to be sensitive to reward responsiveness. However, we did not show TMS to be effective in increasing reward responsiveness and we did not replicate Ahn et al., (2013) or Duprat et al., (2016)'s key findings for TMS efficacy, where we provide evidence favouring the null. Moreover, exploratory analyses suggested following active stimulation, positive affect was reduced. Given our findings, we question the basic effects, which support the use of TMS for depression, particularly considering potential deleterious effects of reduced positive affect in patients with depression.
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Affiliation(s)
- L M Hadden
- Cardiff University, School of Psychology, Tower Building, Park Place, Cardiff, CF10 3AT, UK
| | - H Penny
- Cardiff University, School of Psychology, Tower Building, Park Place, Cardiff, CF10 3AT, UK; Aneurin Bevan University Health Board, St Cadoc's Hospital, Lodge Road, Caerleon, NP18 3XQ, UK
| | - A L Jones
- School of Psychology, Faculty of Medicine, Health, and Life Sciences, Singleton Park, Swansea University, SA2 8PP, UK
| | - A M Partridge
- University of Sheffield, Research Services, New Spring House, 231 Glossop Road, Sheffield, S10 2GW, UK
| | - T M Lancaster
- Cardiff University, School of Psychology, Tower Building, Park Place, Cardiff, CF10 3AT, UK; University of Bath, Department of Psychology, Claverton Down, BA2 7AY, UK
| | - C Allen
- Cardiff University, School of Psychology, Tower Building, Park Place, Cardiff, CF10 3AT, UK; Department of Psychology, Durham University, Durham, DH1 3LE, UK.
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Salunkhe G, Feige B, Saville CWN, Lancaster TM, Stefanou ME, Bender S, Berger A, Smyrnis N, Biscaldi M, Linden DEJ, Klein C. The impact of the COMT genotype and cognitive demands on facets of intra-subject variability. Brain Cogn 2019; 132:72-79. [PMID: 30903983 DOI: 10.1016/j.bandc.2019.03.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/02/2019] [Revised: 03/16/2019] [Accepted: 03/16/2019] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
Intra-Subject Variability (ISV), a potential index of catecholaminergic regulation, is elevated in several disorders linked with altered dopamine function. ISV has typically been defined as reaction time standard deviation. However, the ex-Gaussian and spectral measures capture different aspects and may delineate different underlying sources of ISV; thus reflecting different facets of the construct. We examined the impact of factors associated with dopamine metabolism, namely, Catechol-O-Methyltransferase Val158Met (COMT) genotype and Working Memory (WM) and response-switching on ISV facets in young healthy adults. The Met allele was associated with overall increased variability. The rather exclusive sensitivity of ex-Gaussian tau to frequencies below 0.025 Hz and the quasi-periodic structure of particularly slow responses support the interpretation of tau as low frequency fluctuations of neuronal networks. Sigma, by contrast, may reflect neural noise. Regarding cognitive demands, a WM load-related increase in variability was present for all genotypes and all ISV facets. Contrastingly, ISV facets reacted differently to variations in response-switching as, across genotypes, sigma was elevated for rare target trials whereas tau was elevated for frequent standard trials, particularly for Met homozygotes. Our findings support the significant role of COMT in regulating behavioural ISV with its facetted structure and presumed underlying neural processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- G Salunkhe
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychotherapy, and Psychosomatics, Medical Faculty, University of Freiburg, Germany
| | - B Feige
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical Faculty, University of Freiburg, Germany
| | - C W N Saville
- School of Psychology, Bangor University, United Kingdom
| | - T M Lancaster
- Neuroscience and Mental Health Research Institute, Cardiff University, United Kingdom
| | - M E Stefanou
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychotherapy, and Psychosomatics, Medical Faculty, University of Freiburg, Germany
| | - S Bender
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Medical Faculty, University of Cologne, Germany
| | - A Berger
- Department of Psychology and Zlotowski Center of Neuroscience, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, Israel
| | - N Smyrnis
- Department of Psychiatry, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
| | - M Biscaldi
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychotherapy, and Psychosomatics, Medical Faculty, University of Freiburg, Germany
| | - D E J Linden
- School for Mental Health and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Netherlands
| | - C Klein
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychotherapy, and Psychosomatics, Medical Faculty, University of Freiburg, Germany; Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Medical Faculty, University of Cologne, Germany; Department of Psychiatry, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece.
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Abstract
BACKGROUND Recent genome-wide association studies (GWAS) of striatal volumes and bipolar disorder (BD) indicate these traits are heritable and share common genetic architecture, however little independent work has been conducted to help establish this relationship. METHODS Subcortical volumes (mm3) of young, healthy offspring of BD (N= 32) and major depressive disorder (MDD) patients (N= 158) were compared to larger healthy control sample (NRANGE= 925-1052) adjusting for potential confounds, using data from the latest release (S1200) of the Human Connectome Project. Based on recent GWAS findings, it was hypothesised that the accumbens and caudate would be smaller in offspring of BD, but not MDD patients. RESULTS After multiple comparison correction, there was a regional and BD specific relationship in the direction expected (Accumbens: F2,1067= 6.244, PFDR-CORRECTED= 0.014). DISCUSSION In line with recent GWAS, there was evidence supporting the hypothesis that reduced striatal volume may be part of the genetic risk for BD, but not MDD. LIMITATIONS It cannot be concluded whether this association was specific to BD or consistent with a broader psychosis phenotype, due to a small sample size for offspring of schizophrenia patients. Furthermore, one cannot rule out potential shared environmental influences of parental BD. CONCLUSIONS The common genetic architecture of BD may confer susceptibility via inherited genetic factors that affect striatal volume. Future work should establish how this relationship relates to specific BD symptomology. This work may also help to dissect clinical heterogeneity and improve diagnosis nosology.
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Affiliation(s)
- T M Lancaster
- Neuroscience and Mental Health Research Institute, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK; Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre (CUBRIC), School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Maindy Road, Cardiff CF244HQ, UK; MRC Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics, Institute of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences, Cardiff School of Medicine, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK.
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Corral-Frías NS, Pizzagalli DA, Carré JM, Michalski LJ, Nikolova YS, Perlis RH, Fagerness J, Lee MR, Conley ED, Lancaster TM, Haddad S, Wolf A, Smoller JW, Hariri AR, Bogdan R. COMT Val(158) Met genotype is associated with reward learning: a replication study and meta-analysis. Genes Brain Behav 2017; 15:503-13. [PMID: 27138112 DOI: 10.1111/gbb.12296] [Citation(s) in RCA: 59] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2016] [Revised: 03/25/2016] [Accepted: 04/14/2016] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Identifying mechanisms through which individual differences in reward learning emerge offers an opportunity to understand both a fundamental form of adaptive responding as well as etiological pathways through which aberrant reward learning may contribute to maladaptive behaviors and psychopathology. One candidate mechanism through which individual differences in reward learning may emerge is variability in dopaminergic reinforcement signaling. A common functional polymorphism within the catechol-O-methyl transferase gene (COMT; rs4680, Val(158) Met) has been linked to reward learning, where homozygosity for the Met allele (linked to heightened prefrontal dopamine function and decreased dopamine synthesis in the midbrain) has been associated with relatively increased reward learning. Here, we used a probabilistic reward learning task to asses response bias, a behavioral form of reward learning, across three separate samples that were combined for analyses (age: 21.80 ± 3.95; n = 392; 268 female; European-American: n = 208). We replicate prior reports that COMT rs4680 Met allele homozygosity is associated with increased reward learning in European-American participants (β = 0.20, t = 2.75, P < 0.01; ΔR(2) = 0.04). Moreover, a meta-analysis of 4 studies, including the current one, confirmed the association between COMT rs4680 genotype and reward learning (95% CI -0.11 to -0.03; z = 3.2; P < 0.01). These results suggest that variability in dopamine signaling associated with COMT rs4680 influences individual differences in reward which may potentially contribute to psychopathology characterized by reward dysfunction.
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Affiliation(s)
- N S Corral-Frías
- Psychiatry Department, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA.,BRAIN Laboratory, Department of Psychology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - D A Pizzagalli
- Center For Depression, Anxiety and Stress Research and Neuroimaging Center, McLean Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Belmont, MA, USA
| | - J M Carré
- Nipissing University, North Bay, Ontario, Canada
| | - L J Michalski
- BRAIN Laboratory, Department of Psychology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Y S Nikolova
- Centre for Addiction and Mental Health Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - R H Perlis
- Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Cambridge, MA, USA.,Psychiatric and Neurodevelopmental Genetics Unit, Center for Human Genetic Research, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - J Fagerness
- Psychiatric and Neurodevelopmental Genetics Unit, Center for Human Genetic Research, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - M R Lee
- National Institute on Drug Abuse, Intramural Research Program, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | | | - T M Lancaster
- Neuroscience and Mental Health Research Institute, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
| | - S Haddad
- Psychiatric and Neurodevelopmental Genetics Unit, Center for Human Genetic Research, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - A Wolf
- Department of Psychiatry Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - J W Smoller
- Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Cambridge, MA, USA.,Psychiatric and Neurodevelopmental Genetics Unit, Center for Human Genetic Research, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - A R Hariri
- Laboratory of NeuroGenetics, Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
| | - R Bogdan
- BRAIN Laboratory, Department of Psychology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA.,Division of Biology and Biomedical Sciences, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA
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Lancaster TM, Ihssen N, Brindley LM, Linden DEJ. Further support for association between GWAS variant for positive emotion and reward systems. Transl Psychiatry 2017; 7:e1018. [PMID: 28140400 PMCID: PMC5299394 DOI: 10.1038/tp.2016.289] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2016] [Revised: 10/31/2016] [Accepted: 12/08/2016] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
A recent genome-wide association study (GWAS) identified a significant single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) for trait-positive emotion at rs322931 on chromosome 1, which was also associated with brain activation in the reward system of healthy individuals when observing positive stimuli in a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study. In the current study, we aimed to further validate the role of variation at rs322931 in reward processing. Using a similar fMRI approach, we use two paradigms that elicit a strong ventral striatum (VS) blood oxygen-level dependency (BOLD) response in a sample of young, healthy individuals (N=82). In the first study we use a similar picture-viewing task to the discovery sample (positive>neutral stimuli) to replicate an effect of the variant on emotion processing. In the second study we use a probabilistic reversal learning procedure to identify reward processing during decision-making under uncertainly (reward>punishment). In a region of interest (ROI) analysis of the bilateral VS, we show that the rs322931 genotype was associated with BOLD in the left VS during the positive>neutral contrast (PROI-CORRECTED=0.045) and during the reward>punishment contrast (PROI-CORRECTED=0.018), although the effect of passive picture viewing was in the opposite direction from that reported in the discovery sample. These findings suggest that the recently identified GWAS hit may influence positive emotion via individual differences in activity in the key hubs of the brain's reward system. Furthermore, these effects may not be limited to the passive viewing of positive emotional scenes, but may also be observed during dynamic decision-making. This study suggests that future studies of this GWAS locus may yield further insight into the biological mechanisms of psychopathologies characterised by deficits in reward processing and positive emotion.
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Affiliation(s)
- T M Lancaster
- Neuroscience and Mental Health Research Institute, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
- Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre, School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
- MRC Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics, Institute of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences, Cardiff School of Medicine, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
| | - N Ihssen
- Department of Psychology, Queen's Campus, Durham University, Durham, UK
| | - L M Brindley
- Neuroscience and Mental Health Research Institute, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
- Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre, School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
- MRC Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics, Institute of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences, Cardiff School of Medicine, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
| | - D E J Linden
- Neuroscience and Mental Health Research Institute, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
- Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre, School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
- MRC Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics, Institute of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences, Cardiff School of Medicine, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
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Zacharopoulos G, Lancaster TM, Bracht T, Ihssen N, Maio GR, Linden DEJ. A Hedonism Hub in the Human Brain. Cereb Cortex 2016; 26:3921-3927. [PMID: 27473322 PMCID: PMC5028005 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhw197] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2016] [Accepted: 05/23/2016] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Human values are abstract ideals that motivate behavior. The motivational nature of human values raises the possibility that they might be underpinned by brain structures that are particularly involved in motivated behavior and reward processing. We hypothesized that variation in subcortical hubs of the reward system and their main connecting pathway, the superolateral medial forebrain bundle (slMFB) is associated with individual value orientation. We conducted Pearson's correlation between the scores of 10 human values and the volumes of 14 subcortical structures and microstructural properties of the medial forebrain bundle in a sample of 87 participants, correcting for multiple comparisons (i.e.,190). We found a positive association between the value that people attach to hedonism and the volume of the left globus pallidus (GP).We then tested whether microstructural parameters (i.e., fractional anisotropy and myelin volume fraction) of the slMFB, which connects with the GP, are also associated to hedonism and found a significant, albeit in an uncorrected level, positive association between the myelin volume fraction within the left slMFB and hedonism scores. This is the first study to elucidate the relationship between the importance people attach to the human value of hedonism and structural variation in reward-related subcortical brain regions.
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Affiliation(s)
- G Zacharopoulos
- CUBRIC, School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Cardiff, Wales, UK
| | - T M Lancaster
- CUBRIC, School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Cardiff, Wales, UK.,MRC Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics, Cardiff, UK
| | - T Bracht
- CUBRIC, School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Cardiff, Wales, UK
| | - N Ihssen
- CUBRIC, School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Cardiff, Wales, UK.,MRC Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics, Cardiff, UK
| | - G R Maio
- CUBRIC, School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Cardiff, Wales, UK
| | - D E J Linden
- CUBRIC, School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Cardiff, Wales, UK.,MRC Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics, Cardiff, UK.,National Centre for Mental Health, Cardiff, UK.,Neuroscience and Mental Health Research Institute, Cardiff, UK
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8
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Lancaster TM, Foley S, Tansey KE, Linden DEJ, Caseras X. CACNA1C risk variant is associated with increased amygdala volume. Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci 2016; 266:269-75. [PMID: 26048451 DOI: 10.1007/s00406-015-0609-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/18/2015] [Accepted: 05/28/2015] [Indexed: 01/17/2023]
Abstract
Genome-wide association studies suggest that genetic variation within L-type calcium channel subunits confer risk to psychosis. The single nucleotide polymorphism at rs1006737 in CACNA1C has been associated with both schizophrenia and bipolar disorder and with several intermediate phenotypes that may serve as neurobiological antecedents, linking psychosis to genetic aetiology. Amongst others, it has been implicated in alterations in amygdala structure and function. In the present study, we show that the risk allele (A) is associated with increased amygdala volume in healthy individuals (n = 258). This observation reinforces a hypothesis that genetic variation may confer risk to psychosis via alterations in limbic structures. Further study of CACNA1C using intermediate phenotypes for psychosis will determine the mechanisms by which variation in this gene confers risk.
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Affiliation(s)
- T M Lancaster
- Neuroscience and Mental Health Research Institute, Cardiff University, Hadyn Ellis Building, Maindy Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. .,Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre (CUBRIC), School of Psychology, Cardiff University, 70 Park Place, Cardiff, CF10 3AT, Wales, UK.
| | - S Foley
- Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre (CUBRIC), School of Psychology, Cardiff University, 70 Park Place, Cardiff, CF10 3AT, Wales, UK.,MRC Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics, Institute of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences, Cardiff School of Medicine, Cardiff University, Cardiff, Wales, UK
| | - K E Tansey
- MRC Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics, Institute of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences, Cardiff School of Medicine, Cardiff University, Cardiff, Wales, UK
| | - D E J Linden
- Neuroscience and Mental Health Research Institute, Cardiff University, Hadyn Ellis Building, Maindy Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK.,Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre (CUBRIC), School of Psychology, Cardiff University, 70 Park Place, Cardiff, CF10 3AT, Wales, UK.,MRC Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics, Institute of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences, Cardiff School of Medicine, Cardiff University, Cardiff, Wales, UK
| | - X Caseras
- Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre (CUBRIC), School of Psychology, Cardiff University, 70 Park Place, Cardiff, CF10 3AT, Wales, UK.,MRC Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics, Institute of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences, Cardiff School of Medicine, Cardiff University, Cardiff, Wales, UK
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9
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Lancaster TM, Heerey EA, Mantripragada K, Linden DEJ. Replication study implicates COMT val158met polymorphism as a modulator of probabilistic reward learning. Genes Brain Behav 2015; 14:486-92. [PMID: 26096878 DOI: 10.1111/gbb.12228] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2015] [Revised: 06/12/2015] [Accepted: 06/18/2015] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Previous studies suggest that a single nucleotide polymorphism in the catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) gene (val158met) may modulate reward-guided decision making in healthy individuals. The polymorphism affects dopamine catabolism and thus modulates prefrontal dopamine levels, which may lead to variation in individual responses to risk and reward. We previously showed, using tasks that index reward responsiveness (measured by responses bias towards reinforced stimuli) and risk taking (measured by the Balloon Analogue Risk Task), that COMT met homozygotes had increased reward responsiveness and, thus, an increased propensity to seek reward. In this study, we sought to replicate these effects in a larger, independent cohort of Caucasian UK university students and staff with similar demographic characteristics (n = 101; 54 females, mean age: 22.2 years). Similarly to our previous study, we observed a significant trial × COMT genotype interaction (P = 0.047; η(2) = 0.052), which was driven by a significant effect of COMT on the incremental acquisition of response bias [response bias at block 3 - block 1 (met/met > val/val: P = 0.028) and block 3 - block 2 (met/met > val/val: P = 0.007)], suggesting that COMT met homozygotes demonstrated higher levels of reward responsiveness by the end of the task. However, we failed to see main effects of COMT genotype on overall response bias or risk-seeking behaviour. These results provide additional evidence that prefrontal dopaminergic variation may have a role in reward responsiveness, but not risk-seeking behaviour. Our findings may have implications for neuropsychiatric disorders characterized by clinical deficits in reward processing such as anhedonia.
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Affiliation(s)
- T M Lancaster
- Neuroscience and Mental Health Research Institute, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
| | - E A Heerey
- School of Psychology, Bangor University, Bangor, UK
| | - K Mantripragada
- Neuroscience and Mental Health Research Institute, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK.,MRC Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics & Genomics, School of Medicine, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
| | - D E J Linden
- Neuroscience and Mental Health Research Institute, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK.,MRC Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics & Genomics, School of Medicine, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
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Lancaster TM, Linden DE, Heerey EA. COMT val158met predicts reward responsiveness in humans. Genes Brain Behav 2012; 11:986-92. [PMID: 22900954 DOI: 10.1111/j.1601-183x.2012.00838.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/19/2012] [Revised: 05/22/2012] [Accepted: 08/15/2012] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
A functional variant of the catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) gene [val158met (rs4680)] is frequently implicated in decision-making and higher cognitive functions. It may achieve its effects by modulating dopamine-related decision-making and reward-guided behaviour. Here we demonstrate that individuals with the met/met polymorphism have greater responsiveness to reward than carriers of the val allele and that this correlates with risk-seeking behaviour. We assessed performance on a reward responsiveness task and the Balloon analogue risk task, which measure how participants (N = 70, western European, university and postgraduate students) respond to reward and take risks in the presence of available reward. Individuals with the met/met genotype (n = 19) showed significantly higher reward responsiveness, F2,64 = 4.02, P = 0.02, and reward-seeking behaviour, F(2,68) = 4.52, P = 0.01, than did either val/met (n = 25) or val/val (n = 26) carriers. These results highlight a scenario in which genotype-dependent reward responsiveness shapes reward-seeking, therefore suggesting a novel framework by which COMT may modulate behaviour.
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Affiliation(s)
- T M Lancaster
- School of Medical Sciences, Bangor University, Bangor, Gwynedd, LL57 2AS, UK
| | - D E Linden
- MRC Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and GenomicsInstitute of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences.,School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
| | - E A Heerey
- School of Psychology, Bangor University, Bangor, Gwynedd, LL57 2AS, UK
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