title: Triallelic relationships between the serotonin transporter polymorphism and cognition among healthy older adults.
abstract: The biallelic serotonin transporter polymorphism (5-hydroxytryptamine transporter linked polymorphic region (5-HTTLPR)) is a common genetic sequence associated with serotonin transporter (5-hydroxytryptamine transporter (5-HTT)) expression, which is further modulated by a triallelic single-nucleotide polymorphism (rs25531). Recent studies using the biallelic 5-HTTLPR have identified a beneficial role of low 5-HTT expression on cognitive performance, although no studies have examined the impact of the triallelic 5-HTTLPR/rs25531 marker on cognitive performance among healthy older adults. In the present study, we addressed this issue in 84 healthy older adults genotyped for biallelic and triallelic variants of 5-HTT. Groups were created based on low, medium and high levels of expression, as indicated by the triallelic marker. Results indicated that individuals with low 5-HTT expression performed significantly better on a test of memory compared with individuals with medium 5-HTT expression. This suggests that possession of low-expressing genetic variants of 5-HTT is modestly associated with enhanced cognitive performance among healthy older adults.
authors.affiliation: 1Department of Psychology, University of Missouri-Saint Louis , Saint Louis , MOy2USA.
authors.forename: Lauren E
authors.initials: LE
authors.lastname: Salminen
authors.forename: Peter R
authors.initials: PR
authors.lastname: Schofield
authors.forename: Kerrie D
authors.initials: KD
authors.lastname: Pierce
authors.forename: Elizabeth M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Lane
authors.forename: Jodi M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Heaps
authors.forename: Jacob D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Bolzenius
authors.forename: Laurie M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Baker
authors.forename: Xi
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Luo
authors.forename: Robert H
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Paul
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000483:Alleles; D015415:Biomarkers; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic / Q000235:genetics; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology; D050486:Serotonin Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D050486:Serotonin Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins
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