Variant in oxytocin receptor gene is associated with amygdala volume.

ABSTRACT: The oxytocin system plays a significant role in modulating stress responses in animals and humans; perturbations in this system may contribute to the pathogenesis of psychiatric disorder. Attempts to identify clinically relevant genetic variants in the oxytocin system have yielded associations between polymorphisms of the oxytocin receptor (OXTR) gene and both autism and major depression. To date, however, little is known about how such variants affect brain structures implicated in these disorders. Applying a manual tracing procedure to high-resolution structural magnetic resonance images, amygdala volumes were measured in 51 girls genotyped on OXTR rs2254298(G>A), a single nucleotide polymorphism associated with psychopathology. Results of this study indicate that despite having greater

SUBMITTER: Furman DJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3104107 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature