title: Allelic variants of the functional promoter polymorphism of the human serotonin transporter gene is associated with auditory cortical stimulus processing.
abstract: The loudness dependence (LD) of the auditory-evoked N1/P2 component has been shown to be related to the central serotonergic neurotransmission. Allelic variants in the promoter region of the 5-hydroxytryptamine transporter (5-HTT) gene were shown to modulate serotonergic activity. It was hypothesized that the three genotypes (l/l, s/l, s/s) differ with respect to LD. Allelic variants of the 5-HTT promoter region and LD at the Cz electrode were determined in 185 healthy subjects prospectively. A significant association was found between LD and genotype (ANOVA: F=4.172, p=0.017). Individuals homozygous for the l allele exhibited a weaker LD compared to heterozygous subjects. The results are consistent with the reported association between 5-HTT genotype and serotonin transport capacity in lymphoblasts, and indicate that auditory stimulus processing is associated with genetic variants of the brain serotonergic system. The LD may serve as endophenotype in human serotonin research.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Free University of Berlin, Eschenallee 3, 14050 Berlin, Germany. juergen.gallinat@charite.de
authors.forename: Jürgen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gallinat
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Senkowski
authors.forename: Catrin
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wernicke
authors.forename: Georg
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Juckel
authors.forename: Isabell
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Becker
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sander
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Smolka
authors.forename: Ulrich
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Hegerl
authors.forename: Hans
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Rommelspacher
authors.forename: Georg
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Winterer
authors.forename: Werner M
authors.initials: WM
authors.lastname: Herrmann
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000483:Alleles; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001303:Auditory Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D002352:Carrier Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D005072:Evoked Potentials, Auditory / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D014644:Genetic Variation / Q000235:genetics*; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins / Q000235:genetics*; D026901:Membrane Transport Proteins; D008875:Middle Aged; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; D011110:Polymorphism, 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