Heritable Differences in Catecholamine Signaling Modulate Susceptibility to Trauma and Response to Methylphenidate Treatment: Relevance for PTSD.

ABSTRACT: Alterations in cortical catecholamine signaling pathways can modulate acute and enduring responses to trauma. Heritable variation in catecholamine signaling is produced by a common functional polymorphism in the catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT), with Val carriers exhibiting greater degradation of catecholamines than Met carriers. Furthermore, it has recently been suggested that drugs enhancing cortical catecholamine signaling may be a new therapeutic approach for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) patients. We hypothesized that heritable differences in catecholamine signaling regulate the behavioral response to trauma, and that methylphenidate (MPD), a drug that preferentially blocks catecholamine reuptake in the prefrontal cortex (PFC), exerts COMT-dependent effects on trauma-induced

SUBMITTER: Deslauriers J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6534065 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature