DHB: Visualizing Culture-Gene Interactions in Neural Systems of Emotion

Northwestern University, Evanston IL

Investigators

Abstract

# 0722326, Visualizing culture-gene interactions in neural systems of emotion Joan Y. Chiao, P.I., Tetsuya Iidaka, Co-P.I., Ahmad R. Hariri, Co-P.I. What is the relationship between cultural environment and response to emotional stimuli? In this project, researchers will investigate the role that cultural environment plays by examining both genetic expression and underlying neurobiological mechanisms. The amygdala, a region of the brain associated with processing emotion, has been shown by recent imaging genomics research to vary as a function of type (short vs long allele) of serotonin transporter gene, called 5-HTTLPR. People who carry the short allele version of this functional polymorphism exhibit a greater amygdala response to emotional stimuli relative to people who carry the long allele version of the 5-HTTLPR. Additionally, the population frequency of short vs. long allele carriers of the 5-HTTLPR significantly varies between Caucasian and Japanese populations. However, little is known about how diverse cultural environments affect genetic expression in neural mechanisms underlying emotional behavior. The current research investigates a view of the neurobiology of emotion as universal, by directly testing whether cultural environment affects 5-HTTLPR expression and amygdala response. The first main objective of the current research is to examine the effect of cultural environment on the expression of the 5-HTTLPR serotonin transporter gene on amygdala response to emotional stimuli by comparing genetic, neuroimaging and behavioral data from Native Japanese and Caucasian-American cohorts. A second objective of the current research is to determine how acculturation affects genetic expression of the 5-HTTLPR on amygdala response to emotional stimuli by including an additional Japanese-American cohort in the cross-cultural comparison. The present research aims to promote teaching, training and learning of universals and cultural variation across multiple levels of analysis. The present research may have further implications for assessing the significance of cultural factors on vulnerability to and prevalence of affective disorders, such as anxiety, in diverse cultural and multicultural populations.