Linking the Serotonin Transporter Gene, Family Environments, Hippocampal Volume and Depression Onset: A Prospective Imaging Gene X Environment Analysis

Keriann Little; Craig A Olsson; George J Youssef; Sarah Whittle; Julian G Simmons; Murat Yuecel; Lisa B Sheeber; Debra L Foley; Nicholas B Allen

Journal article

Linking the Serotonin Transporter Gene, Family Environments, Hippocampal Volume and Depression Onset: A Prospective Imaging Gene X Environment Analysis

Keriann Little, Craig A Olsson, George J Youssef, Sarah Whittle, Julian G Simmons, Murat Yuecel, Lisa B Sheeber, Debra L Foley, Nicholas B Allen

JOURNAL OF ABNORMAL PSYCHOLOGY | AMER PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOC | Published : 2015

DOI: 10.1037/abn0000101

Abstract

A single imaging gene-environment (IGxE) framework that is able to simultaneously model genetic, neurobiological, and environmental influences on psychopathology outcomes is needed to improve understanding of how complex interrelationships between allelic variation, differences in neuroanatomy or neuroactivity, and environmental experience affect risk for psychiatric disorder. In a longitudinal study of adolescent development we demonstrate the utility of such an IGxE framework by testing whether variation in parental behavior at age 12 altered the strength of an imaging genetics pathway, involving an indirect association between allelic variation in the serotonin transporter gene to variati..

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University of Melbourne Researchers

Sarah Whittle Author Psychiatry

Craig Olsson Author Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences

Nick Allen Author Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences

Debra Foley Author Melbourne School of Population and Global Health

Julian Simmons Author Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences

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Grants

Awarded by National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC)

Awarded by Australian Research Council (ARC)

Awarded by Australian Research Council Fellowship (ARC D.O.R.A.)

Awarded by NHMRC

Awarded by NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF MENTAL HEALTH

Funding Acknowledgements

Funding for this analysis was supported through grants from the Colonial Foundation, the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) (NHMRC Program Grant 350241), and the Australian Research Council (ARC) (ARC Discovery Grant DP0878136). K.L. is supported by an Australian Postgraduate Award. C.O. is supported by an Australian Research Council Fellowship (ARC D.O.R.A. DP1311459). S.W. is supported by an NHMRC Career Development Fellowship (ID: 1007716). D.F. is supported by the Colonial Foundation (Australia). M.Y. is supported by an NHMRC Fellowship Award (ID: 1021973). The authors report no biomedical financial interests or potential conflicts of interest. Nouroimaging analysis was facilitated by the Neuropsychiatry Imaging Laboratory at the Melbourne Neuropsychiatry Centre. The authors would like to acknowledge the Brain Research Institute for support in acquiring the neuroimaging data, and Keith Byron and Healthscope Pathology for support in analyzing genetic data. We would also like to sincerely thank the participating families for their loyal support of the Orygen Adolescent Development Study.