Impaired recognition of fear facial expressions in 5-HTTLPR S-polymorphism carriers following tryptophan depletion

Marsh, Abigail A.; Finger, Elizabeth; Búzás, Beáta; Soliman, Niveen; Richell, Rebecca A.; Vythilingham, Meena; Pine, Daniel S.; Goldman, David; Blair, R. J. R.

doi:10.1007/s00213-006-0581-2

Cited by 46 publications

(61 citation statements)

References 49 publications

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“…Of these, ten (15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20)(21)(22)(23)(24) evaluated the effects of acute manipulation of the 5-HT system. Three studies (25)(26)(27) evaluated the effects of sub-chronic or chronic treatment with 5-HT probes; one of them also included a noradrenergic drug (25).…”

Section: Review Protocolmentioning

confidence: 99%

Serotonergic modulation of face-emotion recognition

Del-Ben

Ferreira

Alves-Neto

et al. 2008

Braz J Med Biol Res

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Facial expressions of basic emotions have been widely used to investigate the neural substrates of emotion processing, but little is known about the exact meaning of subjective changes provoked by perceiving facial expressions. Our assumption was that fearful faces would be related to the processing of potential threats, whereas angry faces would be related to the processing of proximal threats. Experimental studies have suggested that serotonin modulates the brain processes underlying defensive responses to environmental threats, facilitating risk assessment behavior elicited by potential threats and inhibiting fight or flight responses to proximal threats. In order to test these predictions about the relationship between fearful and angry faces and defensive behaviors, we carried out a review of the literature about the effects of pharmacological probes that affect 5-HTmediated neurotransmission on the perception of emotional faces. The hypothesis that angry faces would be processed as a proximal threat and that, as a consequence, their recognition would be impaired by an increase in 5-HT function was not supported by the results reviewed. In contrast, most of the studies that evaluated the behavioral effects of serotonin challenges showed that increased 5-HT neurotransmission facilitates the recognition of fearful faces, whereas its decrease impairs the same performance. These results agree with the hypothesis that fearful faces are processed as potential threats and that 5-HT enhances this brain processing.

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Section: Review Protocolmentioning

confidence: 99%

Serotonergic modulation of face-emotion recognition

Del-Ben

Ferreira

Alves-Neto

et al. 2008

Braz J Med Biol Res

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“…Several studies have shown that 5-HTTLPR genotype can influence behavioral responses to ATD (Marsh et al 2006;Neumeister et al 2006;Roiser et al 2006;Walderhaug et al 2007). As wildtype (SERT +/+ ), heterozygous (SERT +/− ), and knockout (SERT −/− ) rats exhibit large differences in central 5-HT neurotransmission, the impact of ATD may vary accordingly in these rats.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Acute tryptophan depletion dose dependently impairs object memory in serotonin transporter knockout rats

et al. 2008

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Rationale Acute tryptophan depletion (ATD) transiently lowers central serotonin levels and can induce depressive mood states and cognitive defects. Previous studies have shown that ATD impairs object recognition in rats. Objectives As individual differences exist in central serotonin neurotransmission, the impact of ATD may vary accordingly. In this experiment, we investigated the hypothesis that male serotonin transporter knockout (SERT −/− ), rats marked by a lower SERT function, are more vulnerable to the effects of ATD in an object recognition task than male wildtype (SERT +/+ ) and heterozygous (SERT +/− ) rats. Materials and methods Twelve male SERT +/+ , SERT +/− , and SERT −/− rats were treated with standard dose and lowdose ATD using a gelatine-based protein-carbohydrate mixture lacking tryptophan. In the control treatment, Ltryptophan was added to the mixture. Four hours after treatment, the rats were subjected to the object recognition task. In addition, the effects of ATD on plasma amino acid concentrations were measured, and concentrations of 5-HT and 5-HIAA were measured in the frontal cortex and hippocampus of these rats. Results Plasma TRP levels and central 5-HT and 5-HIAA levels were decreased in all genotypes after ATD, but effects were stronger in SERT −/− rats. The standard dose of ATD impaired object recognition in all genotypes. SERT −/− and SERT +/− rats were more vulnerable to low dose of ATD in the object recognition task compared to SERT +/+ rats. Conclusions These results indicate a greater sensitivity to ATD in SERT −/− and SERT +/− rats, which may be related to stronger central depletion effects in these rats.

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“…Based on these considerations, one might interpret our data as indicating that acute variations in the functionality of the serotonergic system, indeed, only modulate positive emotionality in those subjects who are genetically predisposed. Underpinning this, there is evidence that 5-HTTLPR-genotype moderates the effects of, e.g., acute tryptophan depletion on mood and behavior (Marsh et al, 2006;Neumeister et al, 2006;Markus and Firk, 2009;Markus and De Raedt, 2011), pointing to a higher vulnerability to alterations in the serotonergic neurotransmission in ss-homozygotes.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Acute responsivity of the serotonergic system to S-citalopram and positive emotionality – The moderating role of the 5-HTTLPR

Wielpuetz

Kuepper

Grant

et al. 2014

Personality and Individual Differences

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According to the idea that the central serotonergic system has a modulatory function on behavior and personality in general, we aimed to highlight its association to habitual positive emotionality. In a placebo-controlled double-blind and randomized cross-over neuroendocrine challenge design (n = 72 healthy males) we investigated the association of the central serotonergic responsivity, 5-HTTLPR-genotype as well as their combined effects on positive emotionality. Regression analyses revealed an involvement of the serotonergic system in positive emotionality. There was, however, no direct association between positive emotionality and cortisol responses to S-citalopram; rather 5-HTTLPR-genotype showed an association (p < 0.05). That is, positive emotionality scores increased with the number of s-alleles carried by the individuals. Most notable was the moderating role of 5-HTTLPR-genotype (p < 0.05) on the association between acute serotonergic responsivity and positive emotionality. Indeed, this association was only found in ss-homozygotes, in which the acute responsivity of the serotonergic system additionally seems to contribute to the level of positive emotionality (r = 0.70, p < 0.05). The findings correspond to previous research demonstrating that the 5-HTTLPR is not only involved in the negative-emotional aspects of behavior and temperament, but is associated, moreover, with positive affectivity-supporting the assumption of its valence-neutrality. In addition, our data are in line with the idea of possible influences of the 5-HTTLPR-genotype on early neuronal development. They also indicate the need for further studies in order to clearly elucidate the role of the serotonergic system and its subcomponents in the regulation of positive emotionality.

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Impaired recognition of fear facial expressions in 5-HTTLPR S-polymorphism carriers following tryptophan depletion

Cited by 46 publications

References 49 publications

Serotonergic modulation of face-emotion recognition

Serotonergic modulation of face-emotion recognition

Acute tryptophan depletion dose dependently impairs object memory in serotonin transporter knockout rats

Acute responsivity of the serotonergic system to S-citalopram and positive emotionality – The moderating role of the 5-HTTLPR

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