NCAN Cross-Disorder Risk Variant Is Associated With Limbic Gray Matter Deficits in Healthy Subjects and Major Depression.

ABSTRACT: Genome-wide association studies have reported an association between NCAN rs1064395 genotype and bipolar disorder. This association was later extended to schizophrenia and major depression. However, the neurobiological underpinnings of these associations are poorly understood. NCAN is implicated in neuronal plasticity and expressed in subcortical brain areas, such as the amygdala and hippocampus, which are critically involved in dysfunctional emotion processing and regulation across diagnostic boundaries. We hypothesized that the NCAN risk variant is associated with reduced gray matter volumes in these areas. Gray matter structure was assessed by voxel-based morphometry on structural MRI data in two independent German samples (healthy subjects, n=512; depressed inpatients, n=171). All part

SUBMITTER: Dannlowski U 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4569958 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature