title: DISC1 (disrupted-in-schizophrenia 1) is associated with cortical grey matter volumes in the human brain: a voxel-based morphometry (VBM) study.
abstract: DISC1 (Disrupted-In-Schizophrenia 1), one of the top candidate genes for schizophrenia, has been associated with a range of major mental illnesses over the last two decades. DISC1 is crucially involved in neurodevelopmental processes of the human brain. Several haplotypes and single nucleotide polymorphisms of DISC1 have been associated with changes of grey matter volumes in brain regions known to be altered in schizophrenia and other psychiatric disorders. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of two single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of DISC1 on grey matter volumes in human subjects using voxel-based morphometry (VBM). 114/113 participating subjects (psychiatric patients and healthy controls) were genotyped with respect to two at-risk SNPs of DISC1, rs6675281 and rs821616. All participants underwent structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). MRI data was statistically analyzed using voxel-based morphometry. We found significant alterations of grey matter volumes in prefrontal and temporal brain regions in association with rs6675281 and rs821616. These effects of DISC1 polymorphisms on brain morphology provide further support for an involvement of DISC1 in the neurobiology of major psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Translational Research in Systems Neuroscience and Clinical Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Georg August University, Goettingen, Germany. s.trost@med.uni-goettingen.de
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Trost
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Platz
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Usher
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Scherk
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Wobrock
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ekawardhani
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Meyer
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Reith
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Falkai
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Gruber
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001931:Brain Mapping; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D004252:DNA Mutational Analysis; D005260:Female; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide / Q000235:genetics*; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: C412476:DISC1 protein, human; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins