Research integrating neuroimaging and molecular genetics has yielded important insights into how variability in brain chemistry predicts individual differences in brain function, behavior and related risk for psychopathology. However, existing studies have been limited by their focus on the independent effects of single polymorphisms with modest impact on brain chemistry. Here, we explored the effects of five functional polymorphisms affecting dopamine (DA) signaling on reward-related ventral striatum (VS) reactivity, measured with BOLD fMRI, in a sample of 69 Caucasians. We also compiled individual multilocus genetic profile scores reflecting the additive effects of alleles conferring relatively increased DA signaling across the five polymorphic loci: DAT1 9-repeat, DRD4 7-repeat, DRD2 -141C Del, DRD2 Taq1A C (A2), and COMT 158 Met. These multilocus DA profile scores accounted for 10.9% of the inter-individual variability in reward-related VS reactivity. In contrast, none of the individual polymorphisms accounted for significant variability. Our results show that biologically informed multilocus genetic profiles have unique promise as indices of variability in brain chemistry that may yield advances in mapping individual differences in behaviorally relevant brain function. In turn, such genetic profiles may fuel gene-environment interactions research establishing trajectories of risk for psychopathology.

We examined epigenetic regulation in regards to behaviorally and clinically relevant human brain function. Specifically, we found that increased promoter methylation of the serotonin transporter gene predicted increased threat-related amygdala reactivity and decreased mRNA expression in postmortem amygdala tissue. These patterns were independent of functional genetic variation in the same region. Furthermore, the association with amygdala reactivity was replicated in a second cohort and was robust to both sampling methods and age.

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Prior work suggests there may be two distinct pathways of alcohol use disorder (AUD) risk: one associated with positive emotion enhancement and behavioral impulsivity, and one associated with negative emotion relief and coping. We sought to map these two pathways onto individual differences in neural reward and threat processing assessed using BOLD fMRI in a sample of 759 undergraduate students (426 women, mean age 19.65±1.24) participating in the Duke Neurogenetics Study. We demonstrate that problem drinking is highest in the context of stress and in those with one of two distinct neural phenotypes: 1) a combination of relatively low reward-related activity of the ventral striatum (VS) and high threat-related reactivity of the amygdala; or 2) a combination of relatively high VS activity and low amygdala reactivity. In addition, we demonstrate that the relationship between stress and problem alcohol use is mediated by impulsivity, as reflected in monetary delay discounting rates, for those with high VS-low amygdala reactivity, and by anxious/depressive symptomatology for those with the opposite neural risk phenotype. Across both neural phenotypes, we found that greater divergence between VS and amygdala reactivity predicted greater risk for problem drinking. Finally, for those individuals with the low VS-high amygdala risk phenotype we found that stress not only predicted the presence of a DSM-IV diagnosed AUD at the time of neuroimaging, but also subsequent problem drinking reported three months following study completion. These results offer new insight into the neural basis of AUD risk and suggest novel biological targets for early individualized treatment or prevention.

Background Early life stress (ELS) is consistently associated with increased risk for subsequent psychopathology. Individual differences in neural response to reward may confer vulnerability to stress-related psychopathology. Using data from the ongoing Duke Neurogenetics Study, the present study examined whether reward-related ventral striatum (VS) reactivity moderates the relationship between retrospectively reported ELS and anhedonic symptomatology. We further assessed whether individual differences in reward-related VS reactivity were associated with other depressive symptoms and problematic alcohol use via stress-related anhedonic symptoms and substance use-associated coping. Method Blood oxygen level-dependent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was collected while participants (n = 906) completed a card-guessing task, which robustly elicits VS reactivity. ELS, anhedonic symptoms, other depressive symptoms, coping behavior, and alcohol use behavior were assessed with self-report questionnaires. Linear regressions were run to examine whether VS reactivity moderated the relationship between ELS and anhedonic symptoms. Structural equation models examined whether this moderation was indirectly associated with other depression symptoms and problematic alcohol use through its association with anhedonia. Results Analyses of data from 820 participants passing quality control procedures revealed that the VS × ELS interaction was associated with anhedonic symptoms (p = 0.011). Moreover, structural equation models indirectly linked this interaction to non-anhedonic depression symptoms and problematic alcohol use through anhedonic symptoms and substance-related coping. Conclusions These findings suggest that reduced VS reactivity to reward is associated with increased risk for anhedonia in individuals exposed to ELS. Such stress-related anhedonia is further associated with other depressive symptoms and problematic alcohol use through substance-related coping.