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Sankar A, Ozenne B, Dam VH, Svarer C, Jørgensen MB, Miskowiak KW, Frokjaer VG, Knudsen GM, Fisher PM. Association between brain serotonin 4 receptor binding and reactivity to emotional faces in depressed and healthy individuals. Transl Psychiatry 2023; 13:165. [PMID: 37169780 PMCID: PMC10175268 DOI: 10.1038/s41398-023-02440-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2022] [Revised: 03/30/2023] [Accepted: 04/19/2023] [Indexed: 05/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Brain serotonergic (5-HT) signaling is posited to modulate neural responses to emotional stimuli. Dysfunction in 5-HT signaling is implicated in major depressive disorder (MDD), a disorder associated with significant disturbances in emotion processing. In MDD, recent evidence points to altered 5-HT4 receptor (5-HT4R) levels, a promising target for antidepressant treatment. However, how these alterations influence neural processing of emotions in MDD remains poorly understood. This is the first study to examine the association between 5-HT4R binding and neural responses to emotions in patients with MDD and healthy controls. The study included one hundred and thirty-eight participants, comprising 88 outpatients with MDD from the NeuroPharm clinical trial (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02869035) and 50 healthy controls. Participants underwent an [11C]SB207145 positron emission tomography (PET) scan to quantify 5-HT4R binding (BPND) and a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scan during which they performed an emotional face matching task. We examined the association between regional 5-HT4R binding and corticolimbic responses to emotional faces using a linear latent variable model, including whether this association was moderated by depression status. We observed a positive correlation between 5-HT4R BPND and the corticolimbic response to emotional faces across participants (r = 0.20, p = 0.03). This association did not differ between groups (parameter estimate difference = 0.002, 95% CI = -0.008: 0.013, p = 0.72). Thus, in the largest PET/fMRI study of associations between serotonergic signaling and brain function, we found a positive association between 5-HT4R binding and neural responses to emotions that appear unaltered in MDD. Future clinical trials with novel pharmacological agents targeting 5-HT4R are needed to confirm whether they ameliorate emotion processing biases in MDD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anjali Sankar
- Neurobiology Research Unit, Copenhagen University Hospital Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Brice Ozenne
- Neurobiology Research Unit, Copenhagen University Hospital Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Department of Public Health, Section of Biostatistics, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Vibeke H Dam
- Neurobiology Research Unit, Copenhagen University Hospital Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Claus Svarer
- Neurobiology Research Unit, Copenhagen University Hospital Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Martin B Jørgensen
- Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Psychiatric Center Copenhagen, Copenhagen University Hospital Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Kamilla W Miskowiak
- Neurocognition and Emotion in Affective Disorders (NEAD) Centre, Mental Health Services, Capital Region of Denmark, and Department of Psychology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Department of Psychology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Vibe G Frokjaer
- Neurobiology Research Unit, Copenhagen University Hospital Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Psychiatric Center Copenhagen, Copenhagen University Hospital Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Gitte M Knudsen
- Neurobiology Research Unit, Copenhagen University Hospital Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Patrick M Fisher
- Neurobiology Research Unit, Copenhagen University Hospital Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark.
- Department of Drug Design and Pharmacology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
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2
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Armand S, Ozenne B, Svart N, Frøkjaer VG, Knudsen GM, Fisher PM, Stenbaek DS. Brain serotonin transporter is associated with cognitive-affective biases in healthy individuals. Hum Brain Mapp 2022; 43:4174-4184. [PMID: 35607850 PMCID: PMC9374883 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.25946] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/03/2022] [Revised: 04/21/2022] [Accepted: 05/02/2022] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Cognitive affective biases describe the tendency to process negative information or positive information over the other. These biases can be modulated by changing extracellular serotonin (5-HT) levels in the brain, for example, by pharmacologically blocking and downregulating the 5-HT transporter (5-HTT), which remediates negative affective bias. This suggests that higher levels of 5-HTT are linked to a priority of negative information over positive, but this link remains to be tested in vivo in healthy individuals. We, therefore, evaluated the association between 5-HTT levels, as measured with [11 C]DASB positron emission tomography (PET), and affective biases, hypothesising that higher 5-HTT levels are associated with a more negative bias. We included 98 healthy individuals with measures of [11 C]DASB binding potential (BPND ) and affective biases using The Emotional Faces Identification Task by subtracting the per cent hit rate for happy from that of sad faces (EFITAB ). We evaluated the association between [11 C]DASB BPND and EFITAB in a linear latent variable model, with the latent variable (5-HTTLV ) modelled from [11 C]DASB BPND in the fronto-striatal and fronto-limbic networks implicated in affective cognition. We observed an inverse association between 5-HTTLV and EFITAB (β = -8% EFITAB per unit 5-HTTLV , CI = -14% to -3%, p = .002). These findings show that higher 5-HTT levels are linked to a more negative bias in healthy individuals. High 5-HTT supposedly leads to high clearance of 5-HT, and thus, a negative bias could result from low extracellular 5-HT. Future studies must reveal if a similar inverse association exists in individuals with affective disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sophia Armand
- Neurobiology Research Unit, Copenhagen University Hospital Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark.,Department of Psychology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Brice Ozenne
- Neurobiology Research Unit, Copenhagen University Hospital Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark.,Department of Public Health, Section of Biostatistics, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.,BrainDrugs, Neurobiology Research Unit, Copenhagen University Hospital Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Nanna Svart
- Neurobiology Research Unit, Copenhagen University Hospital Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark.,Department of Psychology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Vibe G Frøkjaer
- Neurobiology Research Unit, Copenhagen University Hospital Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark.,BrainDrugs, Neurobiology Research Unit, Copenhagen University Hospital Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark.,Psychiatric Center Copenhagen, Copenhagen University Hospital Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Gitte M Knudsen
- Neurobiology Research Unit, Copenhagen University Hospital Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark.,BrainDrugs, Neurobiology Research Unit, Copenhagen University Hospital Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark.,Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Patrick M Fisher
- Neurobiology Research Unit, Copenhagen University Hospital Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark.,BrainDrugs, Neurobiology Research Unit, Copenhagen University Hospital Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Dea S Stenbaek
- Neurobiology Research Unit, Copenhagen University Hospital Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark.,Department of Psychology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.,BrainDrugs, Neurobiology Research Unit, Copenhagen University Hospital Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark
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3
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Fisher PM, Ozenne B, Ganz M, Frokjaer VG, Dam VN, Penninx BW, Sankar A, Miskowiak K, Jensen PS, Knudsen GM, Jorgensen MB. Emotional faces processing in major depressive disorder and prediction of antidepressant treatment response: A NeuroPharm study. J Psychopharmacol 2022; 36:626-636. [PMID: 35549538 DOI: 10.1177/02698811221089035] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a prevalent neuropsychiatric illness for which it is important to resolve underlying brain mechanisms. Current treatments are often unsuccessful, precipitating a need to identify predictive markers. AIM We evaluated (1) alterations in brain responses to an emotional faces functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) paradigm in individuals with MDD, compared to controls, (2) whether pretreatment brain responses predicted antidepressant treatment response, and (3) pre-post change in brain responses following treatment. METHODS Eighty-nine medication-free, depressed individuals and 115 healthy controls completed the fMRI paradigm. Depressed individuals completed a nonrandomized, open-label, 8-week treatment with escitalopram, including the option to switch to duloxetine after 4 weeks. We examined patient-control group differences in regional fMRI responses at baseline, whether baseline fMRI responses predicted treatment response at 8 weeks, including early life stress moderating effects, and change in fMRI responses in 36 depressed individuals rescanned following 8 weeks of treatment. RESULTS Task reaction time was 5% slower in patients. Multiple brain regions showed significant task-related responses, but we observed no statistically significant patient-control group differences (Cohen's d < 0.35). Patient pretreatment brain responses did not predict antidepressant treatment response (area under the curve of the receiver operator characteristic (AUC-ROC) < 0.6) and brain responses were not statistically significantly changed after treatment (Cohen's d < 0.33). CONCLUSION This represents the largest prediction study to date examining emotional faces fMRI features as predictors of antidepressant treatment response. Brain response to this fMRI emotional faces paradigm did not distinguish depressed individuals from healthy controls, nor was it predictive of antidepressant treatment response.Clinical Trial Registration: Site: https://clinicaltrials.gov, Trial Number: NCT02869035, Trial Title: Treatment Outcome in Major Depressive Disorder.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patrick M Fisher
- Neurobiology Research Unit, Copenhagen University Hospital Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark.,NeuroPharm, Copenhagen University Hospital Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark.,BrainDrugs, Copenhagen University Hospital Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Brice Ozenne
- Neurobiology Research Unit, Copenhagen University Hospital Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark.,NeuroPharm, Copenhagen University Hospital Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark.,BrainDrugs, Copenhagen University Hospital Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark.,Department of Public Health, Section of Biostatistics, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Melanie Ganz
- Neurobiology Research Unit, Copenhagen University Hospital Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark.,BrainDrugs, Copenhagen University Hospital Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark.,Department of Computer Science, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Vibe G Frokjaer
- Neurobiology Research Unit, Copenhagen University Hospital Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark.,NeuroPharm, Copenhagen University Hospital Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark.,BrainDrugs, Copenhagen University Hospital Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark.,Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.,Psychiatric Center Copenhagen, Copenhagen University Hospital Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Vibeke Nh Dam
- Neurobiology Research Unit, Copenhagen University Hospital Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark.,NeuroPharm, Copenhagen University Hospital Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark.,BrainDrugs, Copenhagen University Hospital Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Brenda Wjh Penninx
- BrainDrugs, Copenhagen University Hospital Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark.,Amsterdam UMC, Vrije Universiteit, Psychiatry, Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Anajli Sankar
- Neurobiology Research Unit, Copenhagen University Hospital Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark.,BrainDrugs, Copenhagen University Hospital Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Kamilla Miskowiak
- BrainDrugs, Copenhagen University Hospital Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark.,Copenhagen Affective Disorder Research Centre (CADIC), Psychiatric Centre Copenhagen, Copenhagen University Hospital, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark.,Department of Psychology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Peter S Jensen
- Neurobiology Research Unit, Copenhagen University Hospital Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark.,NeuroPharm, Copenhagen University Hospital Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark.,BrainDrugs, Copenhagen University Hospital Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Gitte M Knudsen
- Neurobiology Research Unit, Copenhagen University Hospital Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark.,NeuroPharm, Copenhagen University Hospital Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark.,BrainDrugs, Copenhagen University Hospital Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark.,Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Martin B Jorgensen
- Neurobiology Research Unit, Copenhagen University Hospital Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark.,NeuroPharm, Copenhagen University Hospital Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark.,BrainDrugs, Copenhagen University Hospital Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark.,Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.,Psychiatric Center Copenhagen, Copenhagen University Hospital Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark
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Yang Y, Li X, Zhao J, Xue M, Zhang M, Wang C, Song H, He L, Guo W, Gong P. 5-HTTLPR and COMT Val158Met are not associated with alexithymia: New evidence and meta-analyses. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry 2019; 92:263-270. [PMID: 30707988 DOI: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2019.01.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2018] [Revised: 01/23/2019] [Accepted: 01/28/2019] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUNDS Alexithymia refers to the difficulties in identifying and describing one's own emotions, lacking of imagination, and an externally oriented thinking style. Studies up to date have examined the associations of 5-HTTLPR and COMT Val158Met polymorphisms with alexithymia. However, the previous findings were mixed. METHODS We replicated the associations by scoring on alexithymia with the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale and genotyping the polymorphisms of 5-HTTLPR and COMT Val158Met in a large population of college students (N = 1698). Moreover, we also meta-analyzed the associations with five samples (N = 7517) for the 5-HTTLPR and with five samples (N = 2186) for the COMT Val158Met. RESULTS Neither the replicated study nor the meta-analyses indicated the 5-HTTLPR and COMT Val158Met were associated with alexithymia. CONCLUSIONS The findings suggest that the 5-HTTLPR and COMT Val158Met polymorphisms are not associated with alexithymia. However, genetic-environmental studies with different ethnicity and psychopathology should be carried in future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yafang Yang
- College of Life Science, Northwest University, Xi'an 710069, China
| | - Xiaohan Li
- College of Life Science, Northwest University, Xi'an 710069, China
| | - Jing Zhao
- College of Life Science, Northwest University, Xi'an 710069, China
| | - Mengying Xue
- College of Life Science, Northwest University, Xi'an 710069, China
| | - Mengfei Zhang
- College of Life Science, Northwest University, Xi'an 710069, China
| | - Chunlan Wang
- College of Life Science, Northwest University, Xi'an 710069, China
| | - Hongyu Song
- Institute of Population and Health, Northwest University, Xi'an 710069, China
| | - Linlin He
- College of Life Science, Northwest University, Xi'an 710069, China
| | - Wenxuan Guo
- College of Life Science, Northwest University, Xi'an 710069, China
| | - Pingyuan Gong
- College of Life Science, Northwest University, Xi'an 710069, China; Institute of Population and Health, Northwest University, Xi'an 710069, China; Key Laboratory of Resource Biology and Biotechnology in Western China, Ministry of Education, Northwest University, Xi'an 710069, China.
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5
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Piel JH, Lett TA, Wackerhagen C, Plichta MM, Mohnke S, Grimm O, Romanczuk-Seiferth N, Degenhardt F, Tost H, Witt S, Nöthen M, Rietschel M, Heinz A, Meyer-Lindenberg A, Walter H, Erk S. The effect of 5-HTTLPR and a serotonergic multi-marker score on amygdala, prefrontal and anterior cingulate cortex reactivity and habituation in a large, healthy fMRI cohort. Eur Neuropsychopharmacol 2018; 28:415-427. [PMID: 29358097 DOI: 10.1016/j.euroneuro.2017.12.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2017] [Revised: 12/06/2017] [Accepted: 12/08/2017] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Major depressive disorder (MDD) is characterized by low mood for at least two weeks. Impaired emotion regulation has been suggested to be the consequence of dysfunctional serotonergic regulation of limbic and prefrontal regions, especially the amygdala, the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and the prefrontal cortex (PFC). The impact of genetic variation on brain function can be investigated with intermediate phenotypes. A suggested intermediate phenotype of MDD is emotion recognition: The 5-HTTLPR polymorphism of SLC6A4 as well as other serotonergic genes have been associated with amygdala and prefrontal function during emotion recognition. Previously, it has been suggested that habituation is a more reliable index of emotion recognition than functional activation. We examined the relationship of genes involved in serotonergic signaling with amygdala as well as prefrontal functional activation and habituation during an emotion recognition task in 171 healthy subjects. While effects of 5-HTTLPR and of a serotonergic multi-marker score (5-HTTLPR, TPH1(rs1800532), TPH2(rs4570625), HTR1A(rs6295) and HTR2A(rs6311)) on amygdala activation did not withstand correction for multiple regions of interest, we observed a strong correlation of the multi-marker score and habituation in the amygdala, DLPFC, and ACC. We replicated a well-studied intermediate phenotype for association with 5-HTTLPR and provided additional evidence for polygenic involvement. Furthermore, we showed that task habituation may be influenced by genetic variation in serotonergic signaling, particularly by a serotonergic multi-marker score. We provided preliminary evidence that PFC activation is an important intermediate phenotype of MDD. Future studies are needed to corroborate the results in larger samples.
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Affiliation(s)
- J H Piel
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Campus Mitte, Berlin, Germany; Division of Mind and Brain Research, Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Campus Mitte, Berlin, Germany
| | - T A Lett
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Campus Mitte, Berlin, Germany; Division of Mind and Brain Research, Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Campus Mitte, Berlin, Germany
| | - C Wackerhagen
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Campus Mitte, Berlin, Germany; Division of Mind and Brain Research, Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Campus Mitte, Berlin, Germany
| | - M M Plichta
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Goethe-University, Frankfurt, Germany
| | - S Mohnke
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Campus Mitte, Berlin, Germany; Division of Mind and Brain Research, Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Campus Mitte, Berlin, Germany
| | - O Grimm
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Goethe-University, Frankfurt, Germany
| | - N Romanczuk-Seiferth
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Campus Mitte, Berlin, Germany
| | - F Degenhardt
- Department of Genomics, Life & Brain Center, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany; Institute of Human Genetics, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany
| | - H Tost
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Faculty of Medicine Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany
| | - S Witt
- Department of Genetic Epidemiology in Psychiatry, Central Institute of Mental Health, Faculty of Medicine Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany
| | - M Nöthen
- Department of Genomics, Life & Brain Center, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany; Institute of Human Genetics, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany
| | - M Rietschel
- Department of Genetic Epidemiology in Psychiatry, Central Institute of Mental Health, Faculty of Medicine Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany
| | - A Heinz
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Campus Mitte, Berlin, Germany
| | - A Meyer-Lindenberg
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Faculty of Medicine Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany
| | - H Walter
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Campus Mitte, Berlin, Germany; Division of Mind and Brain Research, Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Campus Mitte, Berlin, Germany
| | - S Erk
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Campus Mitte, Berlin, Germany; Division of Mind and Brain Research, Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Campus Mitte, Berlin, Germany.
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6
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da Cunha-Bang S, Fisher PM, Hjordt LV, Perfalk E, Beliveau V, Holst K, Knudsen GM. Men with high serotonin 1B receptor binding respond to provocations with heightened amygdala reactivity. Neuroimage 2018; 166:79-85. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2017.10.032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2017] [Revised: 10/12/2017] [Accepted: 10/16/2017] [Indexed: 10/18/2022] Open
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7
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Nørgaard M, Ganz M, Svarer C, Fisher PM, Churchill NW, Beliveau V, Grady C, Strother SC, Knudsen GM. Brain Networks Implicated in Seasonal Affective Disorder: A Neuroimaging PET Study of the Serotonin Transporter. Front Neurosci 2017; 11:614. [PMID: 29163018 PMCID: PMC5682039 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2017.00614] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2017] [Accepted: 10/20/2017] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Background: Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is a subtype of Major Depressive Disorder characterized by seasonally occurring depression that often presents with atypical vegetative symptoms such as hypersomnia and carbohydrate craving. It has recently been shown that unlike healthy people, patients with SAD fail to globally downregulate their cerebral serotonin transporter (5-HTT) in winter, and that this effect seemed to be particularly pronounced in female S-carriers of the 5-HTTLPR genotype. The purpose of this study was to identify a 5-HTT brain network that accounts for the adaption to the environmental stressor of winter in females with the short 5-HTTLPR genotype, a specific subgroup previously reported to be at increased risk for developing SAD. Methods: Nineteen females, either S' carriers (LG- and S-carriers) without SAD (N = 13, mean age 23.6 ± 3.2 year, range 19-28) or S' carriers with SAD (N = 6, mean age 23.7 ± 2.4, range 21-26) were PET-scanned with [11C]DASB during both summer and winter seasons (asymptomatic and symptomatic phase, 38 scans in total) in randomized order, defined as a 12-week interval centered on summer or winter solstice. We used a multivariate Partial Least Squares (PLS) approach with NPAIRS split-half cross-validation, to identify and map a whole-brain pattern of 5-HTT levels that distinguished the brains of females without SAD from females suffering from SAD. Results: We identified a pattern of 5-HTT levels, distinguishing females with SAD from those without SAD; it included the right superior frontal gyrus, brainstem, globus pallidus (bilaterally) and the left hippocampus. Across seasons, female S' carriers without SAD showed nominally higher 5-HTT levels in these regions compared to female S' carriers with SAD, but the group difference was only significant in the winter. Female S' carriers with SAD, in turn, displayed robustly increased 5-HTT levels in the ventral striatum (bilaterally), right orbitofrontal cortex, middle frontal gyrus (bilaterally), extending to the left supramarginal gyrus, left precentral gyrus and left postcentral gyrus during winter compared to female S' carriers without SAD. Limitations: The study is preliminary and limited by small sample size in the SAD group (N = 6). Conclusions: These findings provide novel exploratory evidence for a wintertime state-dependent difference in 5-HTT levels that may leave SAD females with the short 5-HTTLPR genotype more vulnerable to persistent stressors like winter. The affected brain regions comprise a distributed set of areas responsive to emotion, voluntary, and planned movement, executive function, and memory. The preliminary findings provide additional insight into the neurobiological components through which the anatomical distribution of serotonergic discrepancies between individuals genetically predisposed to SAD, but with different phenotypic presentations during the environmental stressor of winter, may constitute a potential biomarker for resilience against developing SAD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martin Nørgaard
- Neurobiology Research Unit, Copenhagen University Hospital Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Melanie Ganz
- Neurobiology Research Unit, Copenhagen University Hospital Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Claus Svarer
- Neurobiology Research Unit, Copenhagen University Hospital Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Patrick M. Fisher
- Neurobiology Research Unit, Copenhagen University Hospital Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | | | - Vincent Beliveau
- Neurobiology Research Unit, Copenhagen University Hospital Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Cheryl Grady
- Rotman Research Institute, Baycrest and Medical Biophysics, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Stephen C. Strother
- Rotman Research Institute, Baycrest and Medical Biophysics, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Gitte M. Knudsen
- Neurobiology Research Unit, Copenhagen University Hospital Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
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8
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Ibrahim EC, Guillemot V, Comte M, Tenenhaus A, Zendjidjian XY, Cancel A, Belzeaux R, Sauvanaud F, Blin O, Frouin V, Fakra E. Modeling a linkage between blood transcriptional expression and activity in brain regions to infer the phenotype of schizophrenia patients. NPJ SCHIZOPHRENIA 2017; 3:25. [PMID: 28883405 PMCID: PMC5589880 DOI: 10.1038/s41537-017-0027-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2017] [Revised: 07/05/2017] [Accepted: 07/21/2017] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Hundreds of genetic loci participate to schizophrenia liability. It is also known that impaired cerebral connectivity is directly related to the cognitive and affective disturbances in schizophrenia. How genetic susceptibility and brain neural networks interact to specify a pathological phenotype in schizophrenia remains elusive. Imaging genetics, highlighting brain variations, has proven effective to establish links between vulnerability loci and associated clinical traits. As previous imaging genetics works in schizophrenia have essentially focused on structural DNA variants, these findings could be blurred by epigenetic mechanisms taking place during gene expression. We explored the meaningful links between genetic data from peripheral blood tissues on one hand, and regional brain reactivity to emotion task assayed by blood oxygen level-dependent functional magnetic resonance imaging on the other hand, in schizophrenia patients and matched healthy volunteers. We applied Sparse Generalized Canonical Correlation Analysis to identify joint signals between two blocks of variables: (i) the transcriptional expression of 33 candidate genes, and (ii) the blood oxygen level-dependent activity in 16 region of interest. Results suggested that peripheral transcriptional expression is related to brain imaging variations through a sequential pathway, ending with the schizophrenia phenotype. Generalization of such an approach to larger data sets should thus help in outlining the pathways involved in psychiatric illnesses such as schizophrenia. IMAGING SEARCHING FOR LINKS TO AID DIAGNOSIS: Researchers explore links between the expression of genes associated with schizophrenia in blood cells and variations in brain activity during emotion processing. El Chérif Ibrahim and Eric Fakra at Aix-Marseille Université, France, and colleagues have developed a method to relate the expression levels of 33 schizophrenia susceptibility genes in blood cells and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data obtained as individuals carry out a task that triggers emotional responses. Although they found no significant differences in the expression of genes between the 26 patients with schizophrenia and 26 healthy controls they examined, variations in activity in the superior temporal gyrus were strongly linked to schizophrenia-associated gene expression and presence of disease. Similar analyses of larger data sets will shed further light on the relationship between peripheral molecular changes and disease-related behaviors and ultimately, aid the diagnosis of neuropsychiatric disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- El Chérif Ibrahim
- Aix-Marseille Univ, CNRS, CRN2M, Marseille, France.
- Fondation FondaMental, Fondation de Recherche et de Soins en Santé Mentale, Créteil, France.
- Aix-Marseille Univ, CNRS, INT, Inst Neurosci Timone, Marseille, France.
| | - Vincent Guillemot
- INSERM, U 1127, Paris, France
- CNRS, 7225, Paris, France
- Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Univ Paris 06, UMRS_1127, Paris, France
- ICM, Département des maladies du système nerveux and Département de Génétique, Hôpital Pitié-Salpêtrière, Paris, France
| | - Magali Comte
- Aix-Marseille Univ, CNRS, INT, Inst Neurosci Timone, Marseille, France
| | - Arthur Tenenhaus
- Laboratoire des Signaux et Systèmes (L2S, UMR CNRS 8506), CentraleSupélec-CNRS Université Paris-Sud, Gif-sur-Yvette, France
- Bioinformatics/Biostatistics Platform IHU-A-ICM, Brain and Spine Institute, Paris, France
| | - Xavier Yves Zendjidjian
- Pôle Psychiatrie centre, Hôpital de la Conception, Assistance Publique des Hôpitaux de Marseille, Marseille, France
| | - Aida Cancel
- Aix-Marseille Univ, CNRS, INT, Inst Neurosci Timone, Marseille, France
- Service Hospitalo-Universitaire de Psychiatrie Secteur Saint-Etienne, Hôpital Nord, Saint-Etienne, France
| | - Raoul Belzeaux
- Aix-Marseille Univ, CNRS, CRN2M, Marseille, France
- Fondation FondaMental, Fondation de Recherche et de Soins en Santé Mentale, Créteil, France
- McGill Group for Suicide Studies, Douglas Mental Health University Institute, Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Florence Sauvanaud
- Service Hospitalo-Universitaire de Psychiatrie Secteur Saint-Etienne, Hôpital Nord, Saint-Etienne, France
| | - Olivier Blin
- Aix-Marseille Univ, CNRS, INT, Inst Neurosci Timone, Marseille, France
- CIC-UPCET et Pharmacologie Clinique, Hôpital de la Timone, Assistance Publique des Hôpitaux de Marseille, Marseille, France
| | | | - Eric Fakra
- Aix-Marseille Univ, CNRS, INT, Inst Neurosci Timone, Marseille, France.
- Service Hospitalo-Universitaire de Psychiatrie Secteur Saint-Etienne, Hôpital Nord, Saint-Etienne, France.
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9
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Raab K, Kirsch P, Mier D. Understanding the impact of 5-HTTLPR, antidepressants, and acute tryptophan depletion on brain activation during facial emotion processing: A review of the imaging literature. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2016; 71:176-197. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2016.08.031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2016] [Revised: 07/28/2016] [Accepted: 08/26/2016] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
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10
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Villalta-Gil V, Hinton KE, Landman BA, Yvernault BC, Perkins SF, Katsantonis AS, Sellani CL, Lahey BB, Zald DH. Convergent individual differences in visual cortices, but not the amygdala across standard amygdalar fMRI probe tasks. Neuroimage 2016; 146:312-319. [PMID: 27894890 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2016.11.038] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2016] [Revised: 10/14/2016] [Accepted: 11/14/2016] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
The amygdala (AMG) has been repeatedly implicated in the processing of threatening and negatively valenced stimuli and multiple fMRI paradigms have reported personality, genetic, and psychopathological associations with individual differences in AMG activation in these paradigms. Yet the interchangeability of activations in these probes has not been established, thus it remains unclear if we can interpret AMG responses on specific tasks as general markers of its reactivity. In this study we aimed to assess if different tasks that have been widely used within the Affective Neuroscience literature consistently recruit the AMG. METHOD Thirty-two young healthy subjects completed four fMRI tasks that have all been previously shown to probe the AMG during processing of threatening stimuli: the Threat Face Matching (TFM), the Cued Aversive Picture (CAP), the Aversive and Erotica Pictures (AEP) and the Screaming Lady paradigm (SLp) tasks. Contrasts testing response to aversive stimuli relative to baseline or neutral stimuli were generated and correlations between activations in the AMG were calculated across tasks were performed for ROIs of the AMG. RESULTS The TFM, CAP and AEP, but not the SLp, successfully recruit the AMG, among other brain regions, especially when contrasts were against baseline or nonsocial stimuli. Conjunction analysis across contrasts showed that visual cortices (VisCtx) were also consistently recruited. Correlation analysis between the extracted data for right and left AMG did not yield significant associations across tasks. By contrast, the extracted signal in VisCtx showed significant associations across tasks (range r=0.511-r=0.630). CONCLUSIONS Three of the four paradigms revealed significant AMG reactivity, but individual differences in the magnitudes of AMG reactivity were not correlated across paradigms. By contrast, VisCtx activation appears to be a better candidate than the AMG as a measure of individual differences with convergent validity across negative emotion processing paradigms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Victoria Villalta-Gil
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37240, USA.
| | - Kendra E Hinton
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37240, USA
| | - Bennett A Landman
- School of Engineering, Vanderbilt University. Nashville, TN 37240, USA
| | | | - Scott F Perkins
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37240, USA
| | - Allison S Katsantonis
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37240, USA
| | - Courtney L Sellani
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37240, USA
| | - Benjamin B Lahey
- Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
| | - David H Zald
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37240, USA
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11
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Davidovic M, Jönsson EH, Olausson H, Björnsdotter M. Posterior Superior Temporal Sulcus Responses Predict Perceived Pleasantness of Skin Stroking. Front Hum Neurosci 2016; 10:432. [PMID: 27679564 PMCID: PMC5020046 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2016.00432] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2016] [Accepted: 08/11/2016] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Love and affection is expressed through a range of physically intimate gestures, including caresses. Recent studies suggest that posterior temporal lobe areas typically associated with visual processing of social cues also respond to interpersonal touch. Here, we asked whether these areas are selective to caress-like skin stroking. We collected functional magnetic resonance imaging data from 23 healthy participants and compared brain responses to skin stroking and vibration. We did not find any significant differences between stroking and vibration in the posterior temporal lobe; however, right posterior superior temporal sulcus (pSTS) responses predicted healthy participant's perceived pleasantness of skin stroking, but not vibration. These findings link right pSTS responses to individual variability in perceived pleasantness of caress-like tactile stimuli. We speculate that the right pSTS may play a role in the translation of tactile stimuli into positively valenced, socially relevant interpersonal touch and that this system may be affected in disorders associated with impaired attachment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Monika Davidovic
- Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, University of GothenburgGothenburg, Sweden
| | - Emma H. Jönsson
- Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, University of GothenburgGothenburg, Sweden
| | - Håkan Olausson
- Center for Social and Affective Neuroscience, Linköping UniversityLinköping, Sweden
| | - Malin Björnsdotter
- Center for Social and Affective Neuroscience, Linköping UniversityLinköping, Sweden
- Center for Ethics, Law and Mental Health, University of GothenburgGothenburg, Sweden
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12
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Hildebrandt A, Kiy A, Reuter M, Sommer W, Wilhelm O. Face and emotion expression processing and the serotonin transporter polymorphism 5-HTTLPR/rs22531. GENES BRAIN AND BEHAVIOR 2016; 15:453-64. [PMID: 27079569 DOI: 10.1111/gbb.12295] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/25/2015] [Revised: 03/19/2016] [Accepted: 04/08/2016] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Face cognition, including face identity and facial expression processing, is a crucial component of socio-emotional abilities, characterizing humans as highest developed social beings. However, for these trait domains molecular genetic studies investigating gene-behavior associations based on well-founded phenotype definitions are still rare. We examined the relationship between 5-HTTLPR/rs25531 polymorphisms - related to serotonin-reuptake - and the ability to perceive and recognize faces and emotional expressions in human faces. For this aim we conducted structural equation modeling on data from 230 young adults, obtained by using a comprehensive, multivariate task battery with maximal effort tasks. By additionally modeling fluid intelligence and immediate and delayed memory factors, we aimed to address the discriminant relationships of the 5-HTTLPR/rs25531 polymorphisms with socio-emotional abilities. We found a robust association between the 5-HTTLPR/rs25531 polymorphism and facial emotion perception. Carriers of two long (L) alleles outperformed carriers of one or two S alleles. Weaker associations were present for face identity perception and memory for emotional facial expressions. There was no association between the 5-HTTLPR/rs25531 polymorphism and non-social abilities, demonstrating discriminant validity of the relationships. We discuss the implications and possible neural mechanisms underlying these novel findings.
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Affiliation(s)
- A Hildebrandt
- Department of Psychology, Ernst-Moritz-Arndt-Universität Greifswald
| | - A Kiy
- Department of Psychology, Ernst-Moritz-Arndt-Universität Greifswald
| | - M Reuter
- Department of Psychology, Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn.,Center for Economics & Neuroscience (CENs), Laboratory of Neurogenetics, University of Bonn
| | - W Sommer
- Department of Psychology, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
| | - O Wilhelm
- Institute of Psychology and Education, Ulm University, Germany
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13
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Madsen MK, Mc Mahon B, Andersen SB, Siebner HR, Knudsen GM, Fisher PM. Threat-related amygdala functional connectivity is associated with 5-HTTLPR genotype and neuroticism. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2015; 11:140-9. [PMID: 26245837 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsv098] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2014] [Accepted: 07/30/2015] [Indexed: 01/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Communication between the amygdala and other brain regions critically regulates sensitivity to threat, which has been associated with risk for mood and affective disorders. The extent to which these neural pathways are genetically determined or correlate with risk-related personality measures is not fully understood. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, we evaluated independent and interactive effects of the 5-HTTLPR genotype and neuroticism on amygdala functional connectivity during an emotional faces paradigm in 76 healthy individuals. Functional connectivity between left amygdala and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and between both amygdalae and a cluster including posterior cingulate cortex, precuneus and visual cortex was significantly increased in 5-HTTLPR S' allele carriers relative to L(A)L(A) individuals. Neuroticism was negatively correlated with functional connectivity between right amygdala and mPFC and visual cortex, and between both amygdalae and left lateral orbitofrontal (lOFC) and ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (vlPFC). Notably, 5-HTTLPR moderated the association between neuroticism and functional connectivity between both amygdalae and left lOFC/vlPFC, such that S' carriers exhibited a more negative association relative to L(A)L(A) individuals. These findings provide novel evidence for both independent and interactive effects of 5-HTTLPR genotype and neuroticism on amygdala communication, which may mediate effects on risk for mood and affective disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martin Korsbak Madsen
- Neurobiology Research Unit and Center for Integrated Molecular Brain Imaging, Copenhagen University Hospital Rigshospitalet, 2100 Copenhagen O, Denmark
| | - Brenda Mc Mahon
- Neurobiology Research Unit and Center for Integrated Molecular Brain Imaging, Copenhagen University Hospital Rigshospitalet, 2100 Copenhagen O, Denmark
| | - Sofie Bech Andersen
- Neurobiology Research Unit and Center for Integrated Molecular Brain Imaging, Copenhagen University Hospital Rigshospitalet, 2100 Copenhagen O, Denmark
| | - Hartwig Roman Siebner
- Center for Integrated Molecular Brain Imaging, Copenhagen University Hospital Rigshospitalet, 2100 Copenhagen O, Denmark, Danish Research Centre for Magnetic Resonance, Copenhagen University Hospital Hvidovre, 2650 Hvidovre, Denmark, and Department of Neurology, Copenhagen University Hospital Bispebjerg, 2400 Copenhagen NW, Denmark
| | - Gitte Moos Knudsen
- Neurobiology Research Unit and Center for Integrated Molecular Brain Imaging, Copenhagen University Hospital Rigshospitalet, 2100 Copenhagen O, Denmark,
| | - Patrick MacDonald Fisher
- Neurobiology Research Unit and Center for Integrated Molecular Brain Imaging, Copenhagen University Hospital Rigshospitalet, 2100 Copenhagen O, Denmark
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