Decreased 5-HT1A receptor binding in amygdala of schizophrenia.
BACKGROUND
On the basis of postmortem data and the pharmacological action of atypical antipsychotics, serotonin-1A receptors are of interest in the study of the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. To investigate serotonin-1A receptors in schizophrenia and their relation to symptoms, we measured the availability of serotonin-1A receptors in patients with schizophrenia using positron emission tomography with [carbonyl-(11)C]WAY-100635.


METHODS
Serotonin-1A receptor binding of 11 patients with schizophrenia (8 drug-naive and 3 drug-free) was compared with that of 22 age-matched and gender-matched healthy control subjects. Symptoms were assessed using the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale. Serotonin-1A receptor binding in selected regions of interest was quantified by binding potential obtained by the reference tissue method.


RESULTS
The regional binding potential value was lower in the amygdala by about 19% in patients with schizophrenia than in normal controls. A significant negative correlation was observed between binding potential in the amygdala and the negative and depression/anxiety symptom scores on the five-symptom subscale of the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale.


CONCLUSIONS
Decreased serotonin-1A receptor binding in the amygdala may underlie the affective components included in the symptoms of negative and depression/anxiety in schizophrenia.
Yasuno
Fumihiko
F
Department of Psychiatry (YO), Nippon Medical School, Tokyo, Japan.
Suhara
Tetsuya
T
Ichimiya
Tetsuya
T
Takano
Akihiro
A
Ando
Tomomichi
T
Okubo
Yoshiro
Y
D000328:Adult; D000342:Affective Symptoms / Q000209:etiology* / Q000378:metabolism; D000679:Amygdala / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000378:metabolism*; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001007:Anxiety / Q000150:complications / Q000378:metabolism; D001931:Brain Mapping; D002250:Carbon Radioisotopes; D003863:Depression / Q000150:complications / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D016555:Matched-Pair Analysis; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D010879:Piperazines; D011725:Pyridines; D044282:Receptor, Serotonin, 5-HT1A / Q000378:metabolism*; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000150:complications* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000378:metabolism*; D012702:Serotonin Antagonists; D014055:Tomography, Emission-Computed
D002250:Carbon Radioisotopes; D010879:Piperazines; D011725:Pyridines; D012702:Serotonin Antagonists; D044282:Receptor, Serotonin, 5-HT1A; C090413:N-(2-(4-(2-methoxyphenyl)-1-piperazinyl)ethyl)-N-(2-pyridinyl)cyclohexanecarboxamide