FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study, Turku Brain and Mind Center, Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Turku, Turku, Finland; Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Philipps University of Marburg, Germany.
FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study, Turku Brain and Mind Center, Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Turku, Turku, Finland; Department of Psychiatry, University of Turku and Turku University Hospital, Turku, Finland; Turku Collegium for Science and Medicine, University of Turku, Finland; Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom (Sigrid Juselius Fellowship).
Psychiatry Res Neuroimaging. 2021 Jan 30;307:111207. doi: 10.1016/j.pscychresns.2020.111207. Epub 2020 Oct 14.
Genetic variants in the oxytocin receptor (OTR) have been linked to distinct social phenotypes, psychiatric disorders and brain volume alterations in adults. However, to date, it is unknown how OTR genotype shapes prenatal brain development and whether it interacts with maternal prenatal environmental risk factors on infant brain volumes. In 105 Finnish mother-infant dyads (44 female, 11-54 days old), the association of offspring OTR genotype rs53576 and its interaction with prenatal maternal anxiety (revised Symptom Checklist 90, gestational weeks 14, 24, 34) on infant bilateral amygdalar, hippocampal and caudate volumes were probed. A sex-specific main effect of rs53576 on infant left hippocampal volumes was observed. In boys compared to girls, left hippocampal volumes were significantly larger in GG-homozygotes compared to A-allele carriers. Furthermore, genotype rs53576 and prenatal maternal anxiety significantly interacted on right hippocampal volumes irrespective of sex. Higher maternal anxiety was associated both with larger hippocampal volumes in A-allele carriers than GG-homozygotes, and, though statistically weak, also with smaller right caudate volumes in GG-homozygotes than A-allele carriers. Our study results suggest that OTR genotype enhances hippocampal neurogenesis in male GG-homozygotes. Further, prenatal maternal anxiety might induce brain alterations that render GG-homozygotes compared to A-allele carriers more vulnerable to depression.
催产素受体（OTR）中的遗传变异与不同的社会表型、精神障碍和成人脑容量改变有关。然而，迄今为止，尚不清楚 OTR 基因型如何塑造产前大脑发育，以及它是否与母亲产前环境风险因素相互作用影响婴儿脑容量。在 105 对芬兰母婴对子（44 名女性，11-54 天）中，研究了后代 OTR 基因型 rs53576 及其与产前母亲焦虑（修订后的症状清单 90，妊娠第 14、24、34 周）对婴儿双侧杏仁核、海马和尾状核体积的相互作用。rs53576 对婴儿左侧海马体体积存在性别特异性的主要影响。与携带 A 等位基因的婴儿相比，GG 纯合子的婴儿左侧海马体体积明显更大。此外，无论性别如何，基因型 rs53576 和产前母亲焦虑都显著相互作用影响右侧海马体体积。母亲焦虑程度越高，A 等位基因携带者的海马体体积越大，而 GG 纯合子的右侧尾状核体积越小，尽管统计学上较弱。我们的研究结果表明，OTR 基因型增强了男性 GG 纯合子的海马神经发生。此外，产前母亲焦虑可能会导致大脑改变，使 GG 纯合子比 A 等位基因携带者更容易患抑郁症。
