Association study of the polymorphism of MAOA gene with panic disorder / 中华行为医学与脑科学杂志

Objective To explore the association between monoamine oxidase A (MAOA) variable number tandem repeat (VNTR) polymorphism and panic disorder,and then to compare panic disorder(PD) severity patient with different MAOA VNTR genotypes.Methods The structured clinical interview for the diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders fourth edition (DSM-Ⅳ) Axis I Disorders (SCID-1) was administered by a trained clinical psychiatrist,135 patients with PD and 195 healthy controls were recruited.MAOA-VNTR polymorphism were measured by fluorescent tags amplification product length polymorphism technology,Chi-square test was used to compare the distribution difference between each genotype and the allele frequency distribution.Results ①Whether male or female,there was no statistically significant difference between case group and healthy control group in the genotype and allele frequencies of MAOA-VN-TR polymorphism (x2=1.574,1.894,3.588;all P＜0.05).② There was no statistically significant difference between genotypes and panic disorder severity in the male with panic disorder ((14.46± 3.53),(14.15 ± 4.02);t=-0.247,P＞0.05).③)However,there was significant difference between genotypes and panic disorder severity in the female with panic disorder((13.15±3.47),(16.57±4.34),(15.27±4.91);F=4.222,P＜ 0.05).MAOA VNTR-L/L carriers experienced more serious panic (16.57 ± 4.34) than the patient with MAOA VNTR-H/H (13.15±3.47) (P＜0.01) by LSD multiple test.Conclusion No association between MAOA-VNTR polymorphism and panic disorder is found in Chinese Han population,but low activity homozygous genotype may be related to the severity of panic disorder in female patient with panic disorder.

Different brain activity in pons in adolescent males with high-and low-activity MAOA genotype: resting-state fMRI study / 中华行为医学与脑科学杂志

Objective To examine the effects of a functional polymorphism of the monoamine oxidase A (MAOA) gene on spontaneous brain activity in healthy male adolescents.Methods Resting-state fMRI was performed on 31 healthy male adolescents with the low-activity MAOA genotype (MAOA-L) and 25 healthy male adolescents with the high-activity MAOA genotype (MAOA-H).The amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF) of the blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) signal was calculated using REST software,and was compared between two genotype groups.The region ROIs showed significant difference.The ALFF data in ROIs were related to BIS scores.Results Compared with the MAOA-H group,the MAOA-L group showed a significant decrease of ALFF (P＜0.001) in the pons (MNI coordinates:-6,-19,-23;6,-16,-17;-6,-25,-32).In addition,the BIS scores were positively correlated with ALFF in pons in the MAOA-L group (r=0.398,P=0.02),but not in the MAOA-H group.Conclusions There exists relevance between the polymorphism of MAOA and the spontaneous brain activity in pons.And the lower activity of spontaneous brain activity in pons may be a key risk factor for impulsivity and aggression.

The moderating effect of monoamine oxidase A gene polymorphism in relationship between childhood abuse of male adolescents and externalizing behaviors / 中华行为医学与脑科学杂志

ObjectiveTo explore the relationship between male adolescents' childhood abuse and externalizing behaviors,and the moderating effect of monoamine oxidase A (MAOA) gene promoter region variable number tandem repeat (VNTR) polymorphism.MethodsThrough random cluster sampling,352 Han male middle school students from Changsha were tested by Achenbach child behavior checklist-youth self reports (CBCL-YSR)and childhood trauma questionnaire-28 item short form (CTQ-SF),their MAOA genotypes were also identified.A hierarchical multiple regression analysis was used to test the moderating effect.Results ( 1 ) Compared participates with high activity MAOA gene and that with low activity MAOA gene,there were no significant differences on age ( ( 15.82 ± 1.52) vs ( 15.94 ± 1.62 ) ),externalizing behaviors ( ( 15.13 ± 10.14 ) vs ( 14.33 ± 9.70 ) ),total abuse ( (52.59 ± 10.46) vs (51.39 ± 7.56 ) ),emotional abuse( ( 7.63 ± 3.31 ) vs ( 7.11 ± 2.68 ) ),physical abuse ( ( 6.40 ± 2.82) vs (6.12 ± 2.05 ) ),sexual abuse ( ( 6.42 ± 3.24 ) vs ( 5.94 ± 1.72 ) ),emotional neglect ((13.44±5.12) vs (13.16 ±4.83) ),physical neglect( (10.27 ±2.64) vs (10.44±2.53))(t=-1.789～0.678,P ＞ 0.05 ).(2)Except emotional neglect and physical neglect,emotional abuse,physical abuse and sexual abuse could predict externalizing behaviors( Sβ =0.141 ～0.347,P ＜ 0.01 ).(3) MAOA gene was not directly related to externalizing behaviors( Sβ =- 0.023,P ＞ 0.05 ).There was a significant interaction between MAOA gene and emotional abuse( Sβ =-0.148,P ＜ 0.01 ).The interaction between MAOA gene and physical abuse or sexual abuse showed no statistical significance( Sβ =- 0.067,- 0.005,P ＞ 0.05 ).ConclusionMAOA gene polymorphism can moderate the relationship between male adolescents'childhood emotional abuse and externalizing behaviors.

A preliminary study on the relationship of the monoamine oxidase A gene polymorphism and the gray matter concentration in patients with major depressive disorders / 中华行为医学与脑科学杂志

Objective To explore the impact of the variable number of tandem repeats of monoamine oxidase A gene (MAOA-uVNTR) on the concentration of gray matter in patients with major depressive disorders.Methods 56 cases of depression, as well as 37 healthy controls who were matched in gender, age and years of education were divided into low-activity genotype (3R or 3R/4R), and high-activity genotype (4R) with the methods of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification and 1.5％ agarose gel electrophoresis separation. 93 cases all were performaned structural magnetic resonance imaging scanning. Results ① The difference of genotype and allele frequency between the depression group and the healthy group was not statistically significant(P＞0.05 ). ②Compared with the healthy,the concentration of gray matter( GMC ) of bilateral caudate nucleus (K = 11/68, Z =3.76/4.76 ), bilateral thalamus ( K = 21/181, Z = 3.26/3.63 ) and right hypothalamus ( K = 38/12, Z = 4.20/3.60) reduced significantly in depressed patients. ③ In patients with depression, cases with the high-activity genotype showed reduced GMC bilateral caudate nucleus (K = 17/33, Z = 3.23/4.36 ), left putamen ( K = 16, Z =3.42 ) and right hypothalamus( K = 12, Z = 3.62 ) in comparision with patients with low-activity genotype. In highactivity genotype group,compared with the healthy,patients with depression had reduced GMC in left caudate nucleus ( K = 11, Z = 4.13 ), bilateral thalamus ( K = 13/14, Z = 3.53/3.23 ) and left parahippocampal gyrus ( K = 13,Z = 4.04). Conclusion High-activity genotype may be an important factor contributing to the structural abnormalitily of the limbic-striatum-globus pallidus-thalamus loop.

Influence of monoamine oxidase A gene and brain function in the dynamic facial expression recognition in depressed patients / 中华行为医学与脑科学杂志

Objective To explore the impact of the variable number of tandem repeats of monoamine oxidase A gene (MAOA-uVNTR) on the intensity of brain activation during the recognition of facial expression in patients with depression and healthy controls.Methods 28 cases of depression,as well as 33 healthy controls who were matched in gender, age and years of education were divided into different genotypes with the methods of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification and 1.5% agarose gel electrophoresis separation.61 cases were scanned to compare the intensity of brain activation in the recognition of happy, sad and neutral facial expression.Results In healthy controls,cases with high-activity genotype showed increased activation in left cuneus,left inferior frontal gyrus, right medial frontal gyrus and left inferior parietal lobule in comparision with carriers of low-activity genotype.In the depressed, compared with patients with low-activity genotype, cases with high-activity genotype decreased activation in bilateral putamen, left postcentral gyrus, left fusiform gyrus, right superior temporal gyrus and right thalamus.Conclusion Healthy controls with high-activity genotype shows the trend of priority for the identification of negative emotion,this genotype may be one of the risk factors for normal people suffering from depression.Patients with high-activity genotype is associated with the inhibitory of positive emotional state, this may attribute partly to the emotional symptoms in such kind of patients more serious.