Cited by 200Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on BehaviorStress Responses and CortisolGenetic Associations and Epidemiology

Childhood stress, serotonin transporter gene and brain structures in major depression

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Frodl, Thomas, Reinhold, Elena, Koutsouleris, Nikolaos, Donohoe, Gary, Bondy, Brigitta, Reiser, Maximilian, Möller, Hans-Jürgen, Meisenzahl, Eva M·2010·Neuropsychopharmacology

Abstract

The underlying neurobiology of major depression (MD) is likely to represent an interaction between genetic susceptibility and environmental factors such as stress. We investigated, in a multimodal high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) genetic study, whether reduced hippocampal volumes and other brain alterations are associated with the tri-allelic polymorphism of the serotonin transporter and childhood stress in patients with MD and healthy subjects. Patients with MD and healthy participants were investigated using high-resolution MRI and genotyping for serotonin transporter polymorphism in the promoter region of the serotonin transporter gene (SLC6A4, 5-HTTLPR). Region of interest analysis of the hippocampus, whole-brain voxel-based morphometry (VBM), and assessment of childhood stress were carried out. Patients carrying the risk S-allele developed smaller hippocampal volumes when they had a history of emotional neglect compared with patients who only had one risk factor (environmental or genetic). In patients, childhood stress also predicted further hippocampal white matter alterations independently from the genotype. Moreover, the left prefrontal cortex was smaller in patients, whereby childhood stress resulted in larger prefrontal volumes in those subjects carrying the non-risk L-allele, suggesting preventive effects. The findings indicate that subjects with both environmental and genetic risk factors are susceptible to stress-related hippocampal changes. Structural brain changes due to stress represent part of the mechanism by which the illness risk and outcome might be genetically mediated.

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  1. First M, Spitzer R, Gibbon M (1997). Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Personality Disorders (SCID-II). American Psychia- tric Press: Washington.

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Authors
Frodl, T., Reinhold, E., Koutsouleris, N., Donohoe, G., Bondy, B., Reiser, M., Möller, H.-J., & Meisenzahl, E. M.
Affiliations
  • Trinity College Dublin (IE)
  • Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (DE)
Corresponding author
Frodl, Thomas
Venue
Neuropsychopharmacology
Published
2010-02-10
Volume
35
Issue
6
Pages
1383-1390
ISSN
  • 0893-133X (ISSN-L)
  • 1740-634X
OpenAlex
W2017181469
Cited by
200
References
57
Citations by year
2026: 2 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 7 · 2022: 4 · 2021: 26 · 2020: 8 · 2019: 10 · 2018: 14 · 2017: 12 · 2016: 17 · 2015: 16 · 2014: 15 · 2013: 12 · 2012: 14
FWCI
7.62
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Neuropsychopharmacology (publishedVersion)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • HAL (submittedVersion, other-oa)
  • MPG.PuRe (Max Planck Society) (submittedVersion)
  • Trinity's Access to Research Output (TARA) (Trinity College Dublin) (submittedVersion)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Behavioral Neuroscience › Stress Responses and Cortisol
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Genetic Associations and Epidemiology
Keywords
major depressive disorder, childhood stress, serotonin transporter gene, 5-HTTLPR, serotonin transporter, hippocampal volume, emotional neglect, white matter changes, prefrontal cortex, genetic susceptibility, gene-environment interaction, brain structure
MeSH terms
Adolescent, Adult, Aged, Brain, Brain Chemistry, Child, Major Depressive Disorder, DNA Mutational Analysis, Female, Gene Frequency, Genetic Testing, Genotype, Hippocampus, Humans, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Middle Aged, Polymorphism, Genetic, Stress, Psychological, Prefrontal Cortex, Genetic Predisposition to Disease, Serotonin Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins, Young Adult

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