TPH2 polymorphism, social, psychological and physical adversity during development and brain regional serotonin synthesis capacity in young adult males, followed prospectively since childhood for aggressive behavior at kindergarten

Abstract

Event Abstract Back to Event TPH2 polymorphism, social, psychological and physical adversity during development and brain regional serotonin synthesis capacity in young adult males, followed prospectively since childhood for aggressive behavior at kindergarten L. Booij1, R. E. Tremblay2, P. Gravel1, J. Séguin3, F. Vitaro4, M. Leyton1, E. Perreau-Linck1, M. Lévesque1, F. Durand1, M. Diksic5, G. Turecki6 and Chawki Benkelfat1* 1 McGill University, Departments of Psychiatry and Neurology, Canada 2 University of Montreal, Departments of Pediatrics, Psychiatry and Psychology, Canada 3 University of Montreal, Department of Psychiatry, Canada 4 University of Montreal, Departments of Psycho-education, Canada 5 McGill University, Departments of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Canada 6 McGill University, McGill Group for Suicide Studies, Canada Background: Low serotonin (5-HT) neurotransmission is one of the mechanisms central to the neurobiology of aggression. A caveat for most of the studies using a cross-sectional design, focusing on patients, whose history is often reconstructed a-posteriori and lacks a developmental perspective, can hardly resolve trait from state abnormalities. This study tested in a population-based cohort sample the hypothesis that adults with a high physical aggression developmental trajectory in childhood/adolescence have reduced 5-HT synthesis capacity. Second aim was to test whether prospective measures of early adversity predict reduced serotonin synthesis capacity. Brain regional 5-HT synthesis was indexed by Positron Emission Tomography and α - [11C]-Methyl-l-Tryptophan blood-to-brain clearance/trapping (K*). Methods: 8 subjects with and 18 without high physical aggression in childhood were tested. Subjects were members of the Montreal cohort of kindergarten schoolchildren (N=1037), followed regularly since childhood for various biological and psychosocial risk factors. Sixty-minute dynamic PET scans were conducted, following injection of α - [11C]-Methyl-l-Tryptophan. Results: Subjective measures of aggression confirmed that individuals in the high physical developmental aggression trajectory exhibited behaviors that are more aggressive during childhood and adolescence, but not in adulthood. Males with a high physical aggression trajectory demonstrated a specific bilateral decrease in normalized K* in the lateral OBFC, relative to the favorable trajectories. (Pre) birth adversity predicted 5-HT synthesis in parts of the medial OBFC and hippocampus, irrespective of trajectory. Conclusion: Low 5-HT synthesis in the OBFC may represent a contributing trait increasing risk for a physical aggression developmental trajectory. Pre (birth) adversity might pose individuals at risk for developing 5-HT related disorders. Keywords: adversity, Aggression, Neuro-development, Neuro-imaging, Serotonin Conference: 3rd Mediterranean Conference of Neuroscience , Alexandria, Egypt, 13 Dec - 16 Dec, 2009. Presentation Type: Oral Presentation Topic: Symposium 14 – Serotonin neurobiology: new vistas Citation: Booij L, Tremblay RE, Gravel P, Séguin J, Vitaro F, Leyton M, Perreau-Linck E, Lévesque M, Durand F, Diksic M, Turecki G and Benkelfat C (2009). TPH2 polymorphism, social, psychological and physical adversity during development and brain regional serotonin synthesis capacity in young adult males, followed prospectively since childhood for aggressive behavior at kindergarten. Front. Neurosci. Conference Abstract: 3rd Mediterranean Conference of Neuroscience . doi: 10.3389/conf.neuro.01.2009.16.057 Copyright: The abstracts in this collection have not been subject to any Frontiers peer review or checks, and are not endorsed by Frontiers. They are made available through the Frontiers publishing platform as a service to conference organizers and presenters. The copyright in the individual abstracts is owned by the author of each abstract or his/her employer unless otherwise stated. Each abstract, as well as the collection of abstracts, are published under a Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 (attribution) licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) and may thus be reproduced, translated, adapted and be the subject of derivative works provided the authors and Frontiers are attributed. For Frontiers’ terms and conditions please see https://www.frontiersin.org/legal/terms-and-conditions. Received: 19 Nov 2009; Published Online: 19 Nov 2009. * Correspondence: Chawki Benkelfat, McGill University, Departments of Psychiatry and Neurology, Montréal, Canada, chawki.benkelfat@mcgill.ca Login Required This action requires you to be registered with Frontiers and logged in. To register or login click here. Abstract Info Abstract The Authors in Frontiers L. Booij R. E Tremblay P. Gravel J. Séguin F. Vitaro M. Leyton E. Perreau-Linck M. Lévesque F. Durand M. Diksic G. Turecki Chawki Benkelfat Google L. Booij R. E Tremblay P. Gravel J. Séguin F. Vitaro M. Leyton E. Perreau-Linck M. Lévesque F. Durand M. Diksic G. Turecki Chawki Benkelfat Google Scholar L. Booij R. E Tremblay P. Gravel J. Séguin F. Vitaro M. Leyton E. Perreau-Linck M. Lévesque F. Durand M. Diksic G. Turecki Chawki Benkelfat PubMed L. Booij R. E Tremblay P. Gravel J. Séguin F. Vitaro M. Leyton E. Perreau-Linck M. Lévesque F. Durand M. Diksic G. Turecki Chawki Benkelfat Related Article in Frontiers Google Scholar PubMed Abstract Close Back to top Javascript is disabled. Please enable Javascript in your browser settings in order to see all the content on this page.