Association between aromatase in human brains and personality traits.
Kayo TakahashiTakamitsu HosoyaKayo OnoeTadayuki TakashimaMasaaki TanakaAkira IshiiYasuhito NakatomiShusaku TazawaKazuhiro TakahashiHisashi DoiYasuhiro WadaYasuyoshi WatanabePublished in: Scientific reports (2018)
Aromatase, an enzyme that converts androgens to estrogens, has been reported to be involved in several brain functions, including synaptic plasticity, neurogenesis, neuroprotection, and regulation of sexual and emotional behaviours in rodents, pathophysiology of Alzheimer's disease and autism spectrum disorders in humans. Aromatase has been reported to be involved in aggressive behaviours in genetically modified mice and in personality traits by genotyping studies on humans. However, no study has investigated the relationship between aromatase in living brains and personality traits including aggression. We performed a positron emission tomography (PET) study in 21 healthy subjects using 11C-cetrozole, which has high selectivity and affinity for aromatase. Before performing PET scans, subjects answered the Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire and Temperament and Character Inventory to measure their aggression and personality traits, respectively. A strong accumulation of 11C-cetrozole was detected in the thalamus, hypothalamus, amygdala, and medulla. Females showed associations between aromatase levels in subcortical regions, such as the amygdala and supraoptic nucleus of the hypothalamus, and personality traits such as aggression, novelty seeking, and self-transcendence. In contrast, males exhibited associations between aromatase levels in the cortices and harm avoidance, persistence, and self-transcendence. The association of aromatase levels in the thalamus with cooperativeness was common to both sexes. The present study suggests that there might exist associations between aromatase in the brain and personality traits. Some of these associations may differ between sexes, while others are likely common to both.
Keyphrases
- positron emission tomography
- computed tomography
- resting state
- functional connectivity
- autism spectrum disorder
- endothelial cells
- magnetic resonance
- mental health
- gene expression
- white matter
- pet imaging
- magnetic resonance imaging
- skeletal muscle
- mass spectrometry
- adipose tissue
- cerebral ischemia
- brain injury
- multiple sclerosis
- blood brain barrier
- single cell
- contrast enhanced
- mild cognitive impairment
- single molecule
- temporal lobe epilepsy