Brain serotonin1A receptor binding in major depression is related to psychic and somatic anxiety

• Published in: Biological psychiatry (1969) 2005-12, Vol.58 (12), p.947-954
• Main Authors: SULLIVAN, Gregory M, OQUENDO, Maria A, SIMPSON, Norman, VAN HEERTUM, Ronald L, MANN, J. John, PARSEY, Ramin V
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Adult and adolescent clinical studies; Aged; Anxiety - diagnostic imaging; Anxiety - metabolism; Anxiety - psychology; Anxiety disorders. Neuroses; Biological and medical sciences; Brain Chemistry - physiology; Depression; Depressive Disorder, Major - diagnostic imaging; Depressive Disorder, Major - metabolism; Female; Hippocampus - metabolism; Humans; Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; Male; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Mood disorders; Panic disorder; Panic Disorder - diagnostic imaging; Panic Disorder - metabolism; Piperazines; Positron-Emission Tomography; Prefrontal Cortex - metabolism; Principal Component Analysis; Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Pyridines; Receptor, Serotonin, 5-HT1A - metabolism; Serotonin Antagonists; Somatoform disorders. Psychosomatics
• ISSN: 0006-3223; 1873-2402
• DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2005.05.006

The anxious phenotype of the 5-HT1A receptor knockout mouse and the anxiolytic properties of 5-HT1A agonists suggest that the 5-HT1A receptor modulates anxiety. We investigated the relationship of anxiety expressed in major depressive disorder (MDD) to regional 5-HT1A binding. Positron emission tomography with [carbonyl-11C]WAY-100635 was used to estimate regional 5-HT1A binding potential (BP) in 28 medication-free MDD subjects. Stepwise linear regression assessed the predictive capacity of three anxiety components, derived from a larger MDD sample and termed psychic, somatic, and motoric anxiety, on regional 5-HT1A BP. Higher psychic (beta >or= .63) and lower somatic (beta