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Cited by 92Posttraumatic Stress Disorder ResearchNeurotransmitter Receptor Influence on BehaviorStress Responses and Cortisol

Reduced amygdala serotonin transporter binding in posttraumatic stress disorder

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Murrough, James W., Huang, Yiyun, Hu, Jian, Henry, Shannan, Williams, Wendol, Gallezot, Jean-Dominique, Bailey, Christopher R., Krystal, John H. +2 more·2011·Biological Psychiatry
DOI 10.1016/j.biopsych.2011.07.003PMC PMC3207037
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Abstract

Background The amygdala is a key site where alterations in the regulation of the serotonin transporter (5-HTT) may alter stress response. Deficient 5-HTT function and abnormal amygdala activity have been hypothesized to contribute to the pathophysiology of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), but no study has evaluated the 5-HTT in humans with PTSD. On the basis of translational models, we hypothesized that patients diagnosed with PTSD would exhibit reduced amygdala 5-HTT expression as measured with positron emission tomography and the recently developed 5-HTT-selective radiotracer [(11)C]AFM. Methods Fifteen participants with PTSD and 15 healthy control (HC) subjects without trauma history underwent a resting-state positron emission tomography scan. Results [(11)C]AFM binding potential (BP(ND)) within the combined bilateral amygdala region of interest was significantly reduced in the PTSD group compared with the HC group (p = .027; 16.3% reduction), which was largely driven by the between-group difference in the left amygdala (p = .008; 20.5% reduction). Furthermore, amygdala [(11)C]AFM BP(ND) was inversely correlated with both Hamilton Rating Scale for Anxiety scores (r = -.55, p = .035) and Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale scores (r = -.56, p = .029). Conclusions Our findings of abnormally reduced amygdala 5-HTT binding in PTSD and its association with higher anxiety and depression symptoms in PTSD patients support a translational neurobiological model of PTSD directly implicating dysregulated 5-HTT signaling within neural systems underlying threat detection and fear learning.

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Authors
Murrough, J. W., Huang, Y., Hu, J., Henry, S., Williams, W., Gallezot, J.-D., Bailey, C. R., Krystal, J. H., Carson, R. E., & Neumeister, A.
Affiliations
  • Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (US)
  • Itron (United States) (US)
  • VA Connecticut Healthcare System (US)
  • Yale University (US)
ORCID
Venue
Biological Psychiatry
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2011-12
Volume
70
Issue
11
Pages
1033-1038
ISSN
0006-3223 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1016/j.biopsych.2011.07.003
PMC
PMC3207037
OpenAlex
W1969577526
Cited by
92
References
14
Citations by year
2026: 5 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 8 · 2021: 1 · 2020: 8 · 2019: 4 · 2018: 2 · 2017: 7 · 2016: 7 · 2015: 11 · 2014: 7 · 2013: 6 · 2012: 14
FWCI
9.32
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
www.elsevier.com/tdm/userlicense/1.0/ (tdm)
Locations
  • Biological Psychiatry (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
Funders
  • National Institutes of Health (R21 MH085627)
  • VA Merit Review Grant
  • AstraZeneca
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Research
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Behavioral Neuroscience › Stress Responses and Cortisol
Keywords
post-traumatic stress disorder, serotonin transporter, amygdala, binding potential, anxiety, depression, fear learning, threat detection, neuroimaging
MeSH terms
Adolescent, Adult, Amygdala, Aniline Compounds, Brain Mapping, Female, Humans, Functional Laterality, Male, Middle Aged, Protein Binding, Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic, Case-Control Studies, Positron-Emission Tomography, Serotonin Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins, Young Adult

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