0000000001159760
AUTHOR
Alexander Heinzel
MAOA-VNTR polymorphism modulates context-dependent dopamine release and aggressive behavior in males
A recent [F-18]FDOPA-PET study reports negative correlations between dopamine synthesis rates and aggressive behavior. Since dopamine is among the substrates for monoamine oxidase A (MAOA), this investigation examines whether functional allelic variants of the MAOA tandem repeat (VNTR) promotor polymorphism, which is known to modulate aggressive behavior, influences dopamine release and aggression in response to violent visual stimuli. We selected from a genetic prescreening sample, strictly case-matched groups of 2 x 12 healthy male subjects with VNTRs predictive of high (MAOA-High) and low (MAOA-Low) MAOA expression. Subjects underwent pairs of PET sessions (dopamine D-2/3 ligand [F-18]DM…
No evidence for attenuated stress-induced extrastriatal dopamine signaling in psychotic disorder
AbstractStress is an important risk factor in the etiology of psychotic disorder. Preclinical work has shown that stress primarily increases dopamine (DA) transmission in the frontal cortex. Given that DA-mediated hypofrontality is hypothesized to be a cardinal feature of psychotic disorder, stress-related extrastriatal DA release may be altered in psychotic disorder. Here we quantified for the first time stress-induced extrastriatal DA release and the spatial extent of extrastriatal DA release in individuals with non-affective psychotic disorder (NAPD). Twelve healthy volunteers (HV) and 12 matched drug-free NAPD patients underwent a single infusion [18F]fallypride positron emission tomogr…