Abstract #2290

Trait Anxiety and Serotonin Transporter Polymorphism Influence Amygdala Activation as Measured with FMRI During Fear Extinction at 3 T

Harald Kugel¹, Christina Sehlmeyer^2,3, Udo Dannlowski^2,3, Sonja Schoening^2,3, Martin Pyka^2,3, Astrid Veronika Rauch^2,3, Katharina Domschke², Bettina Pfleiderer¹, Pienie Zwitserlood⁴, Walter Heindel¹, Volker Arolt², Carsten Konrad^3,5

¹Dept. of Clinical Radiology, University of Muenster, Muenster, NRW, Germany; ²Dept. of Psychiatry, University of Muenster, Muenster, NRW, Germany; ³Research Group 4, Interdisciplinary Center for Clinical Research (IZKF), University of Muenster, Muenster, NRW, Germany; ⁴Dept. of Psychology, University of Muenster, Muenster, NRW, Germany; ⁵Dept. of Psychiatry, University of Marburg, Marburg, HE, Germany

The effect of the serotonin transporter polymorphism 5-HTTLPR and trait anxiety on amygdala activation during fear conditioning and extinction was investigated with fMRI. 32 volunteers were tested with a fear-conditioning paradigm, presenting neutral faces combined with an acoustic startle. Individual trait anxiety was determined with the State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). Evaluation showed that trait anxiety and 5-HTTLPR polymorphism did not affect acquisition, but fear extinction. Trait anxious volunteers and carriers of the short s-allele showed less deactivation of the amygdala during extinction, demonstrating that they react strongly to fear stimuli, and they can extinct fear reactions less easily.