title: 5-HTTLPR and early childhood adversities moderate cognitive and emotional processing in adolescence.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Polymorphisms in the promoter region of the serotonin transporter gene (5-HTTLPR) and exposure to early childhood adversities (CA) are independently associated with individual differences in cognitive and emotional processing. Whether these two factors interact to influence cognitive and emotional processing is not known.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We used a sample of 238 adolescents from a community study characterised by the presence of the short allele of 5-HTTLPR (LL, LS, SS) and the presence or absence of exposure to CA before 6 years of age. We measured cognitive and emotional processing using a set of neuropsychological tasks selected predominantly from the CANTAB® battery. We found that adolescents homozygous for the short allele (SS) of 5-HTTLPR and exposed to CA were worse at classifying negative and neutral stimuli and made more errors in response to ambiguous negative feedback. In addition, cognitive and emotional processing deficits were associated with diagnoses of anxiety and/or depressions.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Cognitive and emotional processing deficits may act as a transdiagnostic intermediate marker for anxiety and depressive disorders in genetically susceptible individuals exposed to CA.
authors.affiliation: Development and Lifecourse Research Group, Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom. mo344@medschl.cam.ac.uk
authors.forename: Matthew
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Owens
authors.forename: Ian M
authors.initials: IM
authors.lastname: Goodyer
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Wilkinson
authors.forename: Anupam
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bhardwaj
authors.forename: Rosemary
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Abbott
authors.forename: Tim
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Croudace
authors.forename: Valerie
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Dunn
authors.forename: Peter B
authors.initials: PB
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.forename: Nicholas D
authors.initials: ND
authors.lastname: Walsh
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ban
authors.forename: Barbara J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Sahakian
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000483:Alleles; D001007:Anxiety / Q000235:genetics; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology*; D003863:Depression / Q000235:genetics; D004644:Emotions / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D059647:Gene-Environment Interaction; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic; D050486:Serotonin Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: C493230:SLC6A4 protein, human; D050486:Serotonin Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins