title: Serotonin transporter polymorphisms and measures of impulsivity, aggression, and sensation seeking among African-American cocaine-dependent individuals.
abstract: Considerable evidence indicates that serotonergic mechanisms, particularly the serotonin transporter (5HTT), may mediate central effects of cocaine and may also be involved in impulsive and aggressive behavior. We investigated whether polymorphisms in the 5HTT gene were related to traits of impulsivity, sensation seeking, and aggression among cocaine abusers. Standardized measures of these personality traits were obtained in a sample of 105 severely affected cocaine-dependent African-American subjects and 44 African-American controls. Two polymorphisms of the 5HTT gene were examined involving the 5' promoter (5HTTLPR) region and a 17 base pair variable-number-tandem-repeat (VNTR) marker among cocaine patients. No significant relationships were observed between polymorphic variants of the 5HTTLPR and VNTR regions and scores on any of the trait measures. Similarly, demographic variables and measures of severity of substance use and depression were unrelated to allele frequencies or genotype distributions of the variants among cocaine patients. As expected, cocaine patients scored significantly higher on total scores of impulsivity, aggression, and sensation seeking compared to controls. The findings do not seem to support an association between these polymorphisms in the 5HTT gene and impulsive-aggressive traits among cocaine-dependent African-American individuals.
authors.affiliation: Division of Substance Abuse Programs, Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA 19107, USA. ashwin.patkar@mail.tju.edu
authors.forename: Ashwin A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Patkar
authors.forename: Wade H
authors.initials: WH
authors.lastname: Berrettini
authors.forename: Margret
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hoehe
authors.forename: Charles C
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Thornton
authors.forename: Edward
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Gottheil
authors.forename: Kevin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hill
authors.forename: Stephen P
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Weinstein
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000374:Aggression; D002352:Carrier Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D019970:Cocaine-Related Disorders / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000235:genetics*; D007174:Disruptive, Impulse Control, and Conduct Disorders / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000235:genetics*; D005106:Exploratory Behavior; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins / Q000235:genetics*; D026901:Membrane Transport Proteins; D018598:Minisatellite Repeats / Q000235:genetics; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic / Q000235:genetics*; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic / Q000235:genetics; D050486:Serotonin Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins
chemical_list: D002352:Carrier Proteins; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins; D026901:Membrane Transport Proteins; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; C493230:SLC6A4 protein, human; D050486:Serotonin Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins