1LIAMA Center for Computational Medicine, National Laboratory of Pattern Recognition, Institute of Automation, Chinese
Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
2Key Laboratory for NeuroInformation of the Ministry of Education, School of Life Science and Technology, University of
Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 610054, China
3Department of Radiology, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin 300052, China
4Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
5Queensland Brain Institute, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
*These authors contributed equally to this work.

Abstract 

The short allele of the serotonin-transporter gene is associated with higher risk for anxiety and depression in Caucasians, but this association is still unclear in Asians. Here, we addressed this issue using behavioral and multi-modal MRI approaches in a large group of healthy Han Chinese participants (n =
233). In contrast to findings in Caucasians, we found that long-allele (L) carriers had higher anxiety scores. In another group (n = 64) experiencing significant levels of depression or anxiety, the L-allele frequency was also significantly higher. In healthy participants, L-carriers had reduced functional and anatomical connectivity between the amygdala and prefrontal cortex (PFC), which was correlated with anxiety or depression scores. Our findings demonstrated that in Chinese Han participants, in contrast to Caucasians, the L-allele confers vulnerability to anxiety or depression and weakens top-down emotional control between the PFC and amygdala. Therefore, ethnic background should be taken into account in generelated studies and their potential clinical applications.

Keywords

5-HTTLPR; functional and anatomical connectivity; amygdala; prefrontal cortex; Han Chinese

[SpringerLink]