The socio-economic status of communities predicts variation in brain serotonergic responsivity.
BACKGROUND
We reported previously that the socio-economic status (SES) of individuals predicts variation in brain serotonergic responsivity, as assessed by neuropharmacological challenge in an adult community sample, and that this association is qualified by allelic variation in the serotonin transporter gene-linked polymorphic region (5-HTTLPR). Here we examine whether serotonergic responsivity covaries similarly with the SES of communities, as indexed by US Census data in the same study sample.


METHODS
Community SES was defined by levels of income, economic disadvantage, housing costs, and educational attainment of census tracts in which 249 locally recruited study participants (54% male) resided. Serotonergic responsivity was assessed as the baseline-adjusted, peak plasma prolactin (Prl) concentration following acute administration of the serotonin-releasing agent, fenfluramine; tissue for DNA extraction and 5-HTTLPR genotyping was available on 131 participants.


RESULTS
Subjects residing in census tracts of lower SES showed a blunted Prl response to fenfluramine (diminished serotonergic responsivity) relative to individuals living in more affluent neighborhoods. When adjusted for personal income and education, SES at the community level continued to predict fenfluramine-stimulated Prl responses and did so independently of 5-HTTLPR genotype.


CONCLUSIONS
Area-level indices of relative social and economic disadvantage covary with individual differences in brain serotonergic responsivity, and this association is, in part, independent of individually defined SES. These findings may be relevant to reported effects of low community SES on the prevalence of psychiatric disorders or behaviors associated with dysregulation of central serotonergic function, such as depression, impulsive aggression, and suicide.
Manuck
Stephen B
SB
Behavioral Physiology Laboratory, Department of Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA. manuck@pitt.edu
Bleil
Maria E
ME
Petersen
Karen L
KL
Flory
Janine D
JD
Mann
J John
JJ
Ferrell
Robert E
RE
Muldoon
Matthew F
MF
D000328:Adult; D000483:Alleles; D001921:Brain / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D005277:Fenfluramine; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins / Q000235:genetics; D026901:Membrane Transport Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000235:genetics / Q000503:physiopathology; D008875:Middle Aged; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic / Q000235:genetics; D011388:Prolactin / Q000097:blood; D011610:Psychosocial Deprivation; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors; D012701:Serotonin / Q000502:physiology*; D050486:Serotonin Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins; D012931:Social Environment; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors
D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins; D026901:Membrane Transport Proteins; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; C493230:SLC6A4 protein, human; D050486:Serotonin Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins; D005277:Fenfluramine; D012701:Serotonin; D011388:Prolactin