Brain neuroreceptor density and personality traits: towards dimensional biomarkers for psychiatric disorders

Positron emission tomography has, for 30 years, been used in numerous case-control studies searching for hypothesized differences in the density of neuroreceptor or transporter proteins in psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia and depression. In most cases, the results have not been conclusive...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B. Biological sciences 2018-04, Vol.373 (1744), p.20170156-20170156
Main Authors: Farde, Lars, Plavén-Sigray, Pontus, Borg, Jacqueline, Cervenka, Simon
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Behavior disorders
Biochemical markers
Biomarkers
Biomarkers - metabolism
Brain
Brain - diagnostic imaging
Brain - metabolism
Brain - physiopathology
Brain Mapping
Case-Control Studies
Correlation analysis
Depression - diagnostic imaging
Depression - metabolism
Depression - physiopathology
Disorders
Dopamine
Dopamine - metabolism
Emission analysis
Female
Genetic factors
Group effects
Humans
Individuality
Male
Medicin och hälsovetenskap
Mental depression
Mental disorders
Neuroreceptors
Neurotransmitter Agents - metabolism
Part I: Neurochemical Ensembles Underlying Traits Consistency
Personality
Personality Disorders - diagnostic imaging
Personality Disorders - metabolism
Personality Disorders - physiopathology
Personality Traits
Positron emission
Positron Emission Tomography
Proteins
Psychiatric Disorders
Research methods
Review
Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia - diagnostic imaging
Schizophrenia - metabolism
Schizophrenia - physiopathology
Sensory Receptor Cells - metabolism
Serotonin
Serotonin - metabolism
Taxonomy
Variability
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Summary:Positron emission tomography has, for 30 years, been used in numerous case-control studies searching for hypothesized differences in the density of neuroreceptor or transporter proteins in psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia and depression. In most cases, the results have not been conclusive. One reason could be the sizeable interindividual variability in biochemical markers, which in twin studies have shown to emanate from both environmental and genetic factors, leading to low statistical power for the detection of group effects. On the other hand, the same interindividual variability has served as an opportunity for correlative studies on the biological underpinning of behaviour. Using this approach, a series of studies has linked markers for the dopamine and serotonin system to personality traits associated with psychiatric conditions. Based on increasing evidence for the view that many psychopathological states represent extremes of a continuum rather than distinct categories, this research strategy may lead to new biological insights about the vulnerability to and pathophysiology of major psychiatric disorders. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Diverse perspectives on diversity: multi-disciplinary approaches to taxonomies of individual differences'.
ISSN:0962-8436
1471-2970
1471-2970
DOI:10.1098/rstb.2017.0156