Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Mothersill, Omar
• Morris, Derek W.
• Kelly, Sinead
• Rose, Emma Jane
• Fahey, Ciara
• O'Brien, Carol
• Lyne, Ronan
• Reilly, Richard
• Gill, Michael
• Corvin, Aiden P.
• Donohoe, Gary

Titel

Effects of MIR137 on fronto-amygdala functional connectivity

Ist Teil von

• NeuroImage (Orlando, Fla.), 2014-04, Vol.90, p.189-195

Ort / Verlag

Amsterdam: Elsevier Inc

Erscheinungsjahr

2014

Link zum Volltext

Quelle

Elsevier ScienceDirect Journals

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• MIR137 is implicated in brain development and encodes a microRNA that regulates neuronal maturation and adult neurogenesis. Recently, a common genetic variant within MIR137 showed genome wide evidence of association with schizophrenia, and with altered amygdala activation in those at genetic risk for schizophrenia. Following this evidence, we investigated the effects of MIR137 genotype on neuronal activity during face processing. By grouping 81 healthy participants as carrier or non-carriers of the MIR137 rs1625579 risk allele associated with schizophrenia, we investigated MIR137's effects on altered cortical response during an fMRI face processing task and altered functional connectivity using the amygdala as a seed region. Homozygous carriers of the risk allele were observed to show relatively increased functional connectivity between the right amygdala and frontal regions that play a key role in emotion processing and regulation (e.g. the cingulate and prefrontal cortex). Our findings provide the first evidence that the rs1625579 variant affects fronto-amygdala functional connectivity, providing further evidence that MIR137 may contribute to forms of psychosis in which affective symptoms are more prominent. •We examined MIR137 rs1625579 effects on brain function in controls using fMRI.•Brain activation/connectivity was examined during a face processing task.•rs1625579 risk homozygotes showed increased fronto-amygdala functional connectivity.•This study provides the first evidence that MIR137 affects functional connectivity.