title: The effects of a DTNBP1 gene variant on attention networks: an fMRI study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Attention deficits belong to the main cognitive symptoms of schizophrenia and come along with altered neural activity in previously described cerebral networks. Given the high heritability of schizophrenia the question arises if impaired function of these networks is modulated by susceptibility genes and detectable in healthy risk allele carriers.
  
  
  METHODS
  The present event-related fMRI study investigated the effect of the single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs1018381 of the DTNBP1 (dystrobrevin-binding protein 1) gene on brain activity in 80 subjects while performing the attention network test (ANT). In this reaction time task three domains of attention are probed simultaneously: alerting, orienting and executive control of attention.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Risk allele carriers showed impaired performance in the executive control condition associated with reduced neural activity in the left superior frontal gyrus [Brodmann area (BA) 9]. Risk allele carriers did not show alterations in the alerting and orienting networks.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  BA 9 is a key region of schizophrenia pathology and belongs to a network that has been shown previously to be involved in impaired executive control mechanisms in schizophrenia. Our results identified the impact of DTNBP1 on the development of a specific attention deficit via modulation of a left prefrontal network.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany. mthimm@ukaachen.de
authors.forename: Markus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Thimm
authors.forename: Axel
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Krug
authors.forename: Thilo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kellermann
authors.forename: Valentin
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Markov
authors.forename: Sören
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Krach
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Jansen
authors.forename: Klaus
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Zerres
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Eggermann
authors.forename: Tony
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Stöcker
authors.forename: N Jon
authors.initials: NJ
authors.lastname: Shah
authors.forename: Markus M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Nöthen
authors.forename: Marcella
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rietschel
authors.forename: Tilo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kircher
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000483:Alleles; D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology*; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology*; D049029:Dystrophin-Associated Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D056344:Executive Function / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000502:physiology*; D009479:Neuropeptides / Q000235:genetics*; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: C111539:DTNB protein, human; D049029:Dystrophin-Associated Proteins; D009479:Neuropeptides