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Neural correlate of autistic-like traits and a common allele in the oxytocin receptor gene.

ABSTRACT: Sub-clinical autistic-like traits (ALTs) are continuously distributed in the general population and genetically linked to autism. Although identifying the neurogenetic backgrounds of ALTs might enhance our ability to identify those of autism, they are largely unstudied. Here, we have examined the neuroanatomical basis of ALTs and their association with the oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR) rs2254298A, a known risk allele for autism in Asian populations which has also been implicated in limbic-paralimbic brain structures. First, we extracted a four-factor structure of ALTs, as measured using the Autism-Spectrum Quotient, including 'prosociality', 'communication', 'details/patterns' and 'imagination' in 135 neurotypical adults (79 men, 56 women) to reduce the genetic heterogeneity of ALTs. Then, in the same population, voxel-based morphometry revealed that lower 'prosociality', which indicates strong ALTs, was significantly correlated to smaller regional grey matter volume in the right insula in males. Males with lower 'prosociality' also had less interregional structural coupling between the right insula and the ventral anterior cingulate cortex. Furthermore, males with OXTR rs2254298A had significantly smaller grey matter volume in the right insula. These results show that decreased volume of the insula is a neuroanatomical correlate of ALTs and a potential intermediate phenotype linking ALTs with OXTR in male subjects.

SUBMITTER: Saito Y

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4187262 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Neural correlate of autistic-like traits and a common allele in the oxytocin receptor gene.

Saito Yuki Y Suga Motomu M Tochigi Mamoru M Abe Osamu O Yahata Noriaki N Kawakubo Yuki Y Liu Xiaoxi X Kawamura Yoshiya Y Sasaki Tsukasa T Kasai Kiyoto K Yamasue Hidenori H

Social cognitive and affective neuroscience 20130814 10

Sub-clinical autistic-like traits (ALTs) are continuously distributed in the general population and genetically linked to autism. Although identifying the neurogenetic backgrounds of ALTs might enhance our ability to identify those of autism, they are largely unstudied. Here, we have examined the neuroanatomical basis of ALTs and their association with the oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR) rs2254298A, a known risk allele for autism in Asian populations which has also been implicated in limbic-parali ...[more]

PMID: 23946005

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Project description:There have been numerous studies in which the biological role of oxytocin in trusting behavior has been investigated. However, a link between oxytocin and trust in humans was discovered only in one early study. We hypothesized that there is a large interindividual variation in oxytocin sensitivity, and that such variation is one reason for the doubt surrounding the role of oxytocin in trusting behavior. Here, in a double-blind, prospective, case-control study, we administered intranasal oxytocin to participants of trust and risk games. We measured salivary oxytocin concentration, relating it to the amount of money transferred among participants (a proxy for trust) and the autism-spectrum quotient (AQ). A one-sided Fisher's exact test was performed to detect differences between the oxytocin and placebo groups in the proportions of investors who transferred the maximum amount of money. We discovered a tendency for participants who received oxytocin to transfer higher amounts of money to co-participants than those who received a placebo (P = 0.04). We also revealed a high degree of interindividual variation in salivary oxytocin concentrations after oxytocin administration. After stratifying the samples with respect to oxytocin sensitivity, oxytocin-sensitive participants in the oxytocin group also transferred higher amounts of money than those in the placebo group (P = 0.03), while such a tendency was not observed for oxytocin-insensitive participants (P = 0.34). Participants with lower AQ scores (less severe autistic traits) exhibited a greater tendency toward trusting behavior after oxytocin administration than did those with higher AQ scores (P = 0.02). A two-sample t-test that was performed to detect significant differences in the mean transfers between the oxytocin and placebo groups indicated no significant between-group difference in the mean transfers (P = 0.08). There are two possible interpretations of these results: First, there is no effect of oxytocin on trust in humans; second, the effects of oxytocin on trust in humans is person-dependent. However, the results should be interpreted with caution as the effect size was not larger than the minimal detectable effect size and the results were not statistically significant (P > 0.05) after Bonferroni corrections.

Dataset Information

Neural correlate of autistic-like traits and a common allele in the oxytocin receptor gene.

Publications

Neural correlate of autistic-like traits and a common allele in the oxytocin receptor gene.

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