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Serotonin transporter gene polymorphism, differential early rearing, and behavior in rhesus monkey neonates

Molecular Psychiatry volume 7, pages 1058–1063 (2002)Cite this article

Abstract

A polymorphism in the serotonin (5-HT) transporter gene regulatory region (5-HTTLPR) is associated with measures of 5-HT transporter (5-HTT) expression and 5-HT-mediated behaviors in humans. An analogous length variation of the 5-HTTLPR has been reported in rhesus monkeys (rh5-HTTLPR). A retrospective association study was conducted on 115 rhesus macaque infants either homozygous for the long 5HTTLPR variant (l/l) or heterozygous for the short and long form (l/s). To assess contributions of genotype and early rearing environment, 36 mother-reared monkeys (l/l = 26, l/s = 10) and 79 nursery-reared monkeys (l/l = 54, l/s = 25) were assessed on days 7, 14, 21, and 30 of life on a standardized primate neurobehavioral test designed to measure orienting, motor maturity, reflex functioning, and temperament. Both mother-reared and nursery-reared heterozygote animals demonstrated increased affective responding relative to l/l homozygotes. Nursery-reared, but not mother-reared, l/s infants exhibited lower orientation scores than their l/l counterparts. These results demonstrate the contributions of rearing environment and genetic background, and their interaction, in a nonhuman primate model of behavioral development.

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Notes

  1. In human infants, the 5HTTLPR and DRD4 genotypes interacted to produce phenotypic effects on orientation. Rhesus monkeys do not possess the equivalent DRD4 polymorphisms,21 which suggests that in monkeys the effects of 5HTTLPR are more ‘purely’ expressed than in humans.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to acknowledge the assistance of Wendy Airoso, Heather Higley, and Kristen Zajicek in infant care and testing. We are grateful to an anonymous reviewer for comments on an earlier version of the manuscript. This research was supported by the Intramural Research Program of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, and by a grant of the German Research Foundation (DFG 629/4–2 and SFB 581) to KPL. The research described herein was conducted in accordance with regulations governing the care and use of laboratory animals, and was subjected to institutional IACUC approval.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Comparative Ethology, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, NIH Animal Center, Poolesville, MD, USA

    M Champoux, C Shannon & S J Suomi

  2. Laboratory of Clinical Studies—Primate Unit, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, NIH Animal Center, Poolesville, MD, USA

    A Bennett & J D Higley

  3. Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany

    K P Lesch

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  1. M Champoux
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  2. A Bennett
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  3. C Shannon
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  4. J D Higley
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  5. K P Lesch
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  6. S J Suomi
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Correspondence to M Champoux.

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Champoux, M., Bennett, A., Shannon, C. et al. Serotonin transporter gene polymorphism, differential early rearing, and behavior in rhesus monkey neonates. Mol Psychiatry 7, 1058–1063 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.mp.4001157

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