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Medical AI Inquiry: You was designed to assist in medical decision-making based on the provided user questions. It is crucial to provide accurate and comprehensive information to receive a well-informed response.  Labels: OBJECTIVE, METHODS, RESULTS. Meshes: Adult, Affective Symptoms, Ankyrin Repeat, Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor, Emotions, Female, Genetic Association Studies, Genetic Variation, Genotype, Gyrus Cinguli, Heterozygote, Humans, Male, Methionine, Personality, Personality Inventory, Polymorphism, Genetic, Protein-Serine-Threonine Kinases, Receptors, Dopamine D2, Surveys and Questionnaires, Valine.
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Is interaction effect of functional variants of the BDNF and DRD2/ANKK1 gene associated with alexithymia in healthy human subjects? Context: To test the hypothesis that the interaction between the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and dopamine receptor D(2) (DRD2)/ANKK1 gene contributes to individual differences in alexithymia. The personality construct of alexithymia refers to difficulties in emotional self-regulation and contributes as a risk factor to several mental disorders. Alexithymic individuals show an impoverished conscious experience of emotions but an intact autonomic emotional response. Persons with high alexithymia scores reportedly show a reduced activation of the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) during the processing of emotional stimuli. An interaction between two polymorphisms on the BDNF and DRD2/ANKK1 gene has been recently associated with reduced gray matter volume in the ACC and higher trait anxiety. We conducted a genetic association study. A total of 664 healthy participants completed the Toronto Alexithymia Scale questionnaire and were genotyped for the BDNF Val66Met (rs6265) and the DRD2/ANKK1 Taq IA (rs1800497) polymorphisms. Carriers of at least one BDNF 66Met and one DRD2/ANKK1 A1 allele showed the highest scores in the total Toronto Alexithymia Scale and in the subscale "Difficulties Identifying Feelings."
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In line with recent studies investigating the role of BDNF Val66Met and DRD2/ANKK1 Taq IA polymorphisms on anxiety and gray matter volume in the ACC, our findings provide the first evidence for a genetic contribution to alexithymia. Final Decision: yes