Nature Neurosci：遗传变异与情感记忆

佚名

    生物谷报道：研究人员发现，一种神经传递受体的编码基因的普通变异会促进情感记忆能力的提高，这一最新的研究成果发表在9月号的《自然—神经科学》上。

    负责编码阿尔法2b肾上腺素受体的基因会出现变异，30%的高加索人和12%的非洲裔美国人会携带这种变异基因，他们表现出对情感图片有更好的记忆力。Dominique  de  Quervain和同事将情感呈中性、正面和负面的图片展现在健康的瑞士受试者前，他们发现，与正常人相比，携带这种变异基因的人更可能记住正面和负面的情感图像，而两组人对情感中性的图片的记忆力没有表现出不同。

    在对卢旺达难民的另一项测试中，研究人员发现，尽管创伤后应激障碍的诊断没有与基因型结合起来，但携带这种变异基因的人对来自战争的情感记忆更为深刻和长久。（科学时报）

原始出处:

Nature Neuroscience

Published online: 29 July 2007; | doi:10.1038/nn1945

A deletion variant of the 2b-adrenoceptor is related to emotional memory in Europeans and Africans

Dominique J-F de Quervain1, 2, Iris-Tatjana Kolassa3, Verena Ertl3, P Lamaro Onyut3, 4, Frank Neuner3, Thomas Elbert3 & Andreas Papassotiropoulos5, 6

1 Division of Psychiatry Research, University of Zürich, Lenggstr. 31, 8032 Zürich, Switzerland.

2 Center for Integrative Human Physiology, University of Zürich, 8057, Zürich, Switzerland.

3 Department of Psychology, University of Konstanz, D25, 78457 Konstanz, Germany.

4 Faculty of Science and Education, Mbarara University of Science & Technology, P.O. Box 1410, Mbarara, Uganda.

5 Division of Molecular Psychology, University of Basel, Missionsstr. 62a, 4055 Basel, Switzerland.

6 Life Sciences Training Facility, Biozentrum, University of Basel, Klingelbergstr. 50/70, 4056 Basel, Switzerland.

Correspondence should be addressed to Dominique J-F de Quervain quervain@bli.unizh.ch or Andreas Papassotiropoulos andreas.papas@unibas.ch

Emotionally arousing events are recalled better than neutral events. This phenomenon, which helps us to remember important and potentially vital information, depends on the activation of noradrenergic transmission in the brain. Here we show that a deletion variant of ADRA2B, the gene encoding the alpha 2b-adrenergic receptor, is related to enhanced emotional memory in healthy Swiss subjects and in survivors of the Rwandan civil war who experienced highly aversive emotional situations.