IMPORTANCEThe genetic basis of bipolar disorder (BD) in Han Chinese individuals is not fully understood.OBJECTIVE To explore the genetic basis of BD in the Han Chinese population. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTSA genome-wide association study (GWAS), followed by independent replication, was conducted to identify BD risk loci in Han Chinese individuals. Individuals with BD were diagnosed based on DSM-IV criteria and had no history of schizophrenia, mental retardation, or substance dependence; individuals without any personal or family history of mental illnesses, including BD, were included as control participants. In total, discovery samples from 1822 patients and 4650 control participants passed quality control for the GWAS analysis. Replication analyses of samples from 958 patients and 2050 control participants were conducted. Summary statistics from the European Psychiatric Genomics Consortium 2 (PGC2) BD GWAS (20 352 cases and 31 358 controls) were used for the trans-ancestry genetic correlation analysis, polygenetic risk score analysis, and meta-analysis to compare BD genetic risk between Han Chinese and European individuals. The study was performed in February 2020.MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES Single-nucleotide variations with P < 5.00 × 10 −8 were considered to show genome-wide significance of statistical association. RESULTS The HanChinese discovery GWAS sample included 1822 cases (mean [SD] age, 35.43 [14.12] years; 838 [46%] male) and 4650 controls (mean [SD] age, 27.48 [5.97] years; 2465 [53%] male), and the replication sample included 958 cases (mean [SD] age, 37.82 [15.54] years; 412 [43%] male) and 2050 controls (mean [SD] age, 27.50 [6.00] years; 1189[58%] male). A novel BD risk locus in Han Chinese individuals was found near the gene encoding transmembrane protein 108 (TMEM108, rs9863544; P = 2.49 × 10 −8 ; odds ratio [OR], 0.650; 95% CI, 0.559-0.756), which is required for dendritic spine development and glutamatergic transmission in the dentate gyrus. Trans-ancestry genetic correlation estimation (ρ ge = 0.652, SE = 0.106; P = 7.30 × 10 −10 ) and polygenetic risk score analyses (maximum liability-scaled Nagelkerke pseudo R 2 = 1.27%; P = 1.30 × 10 −19 ) showed evidence of shared BD genetic risk between Han Chinese and European populations, and meta-analysis identified 2 new GWAS risk loci near VRK2 (rs41335055; P = 4.98 × 10 −9 ; OR, 0.849; 95% CI, 0.804-0.897) and RHEBL1 (rs7969091; P = 3.12 × 10 −8 ; OR, 0.932; 95% CI, 0.909-0.956).CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE This GWAS study identified several loci and genes involved in the heritable risk of BD, providing insights into its genetic architecture and biological basis.

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Recent imaging studies have shown that brain morphology and neural activity during sexual arousal differ between homosexual and heterosexual men. However, functional differences in neural networks at the resting state is unknown. The study is to characterize the association of homosexual preference with measures of regional homogeneity and functional connectivity in the resting state. Participants were 26 healthy homosexual men and 26 age-matched healthy heterosexual men in whom we collected echo planar magnetic resonance imaging data in the resting state. The sexual orientation was evaluated using the Kinsey Scale. We first assessed group differences in regional homogeneity and then, taking the identified differences as seed regions, we compared groups in measures of functional connectivity from those seeds. The behavioral significances of the differences in regional homogeneity and functional connectivity were assessed by examining their associations with Kinsey Scores. Homosexual participants showed significantly reduced regional homogeneity in the left inferior occipital gyrus, right middle occipital gyrus, right superior occipital gyrus, left cuneus, right precuneus, and increased regional homogeneity in rectal gyrus, bilateral midbrain, and left temporal lobe. Regional homogeneity correlated positively with Kinsey scores in the left inferior occipital gyrus. The homosexual group also showed reduced functional connectivity between left middle temporal gyrus, left supra-marginal gyrus, right cuneus and the seed region, i.e. left inferior occipital gyrus. Additionly, the connection between the left inferior occipital gyrus and right thalamus correlated positively with Kinsey scores. These differences in regional homogeneity and functional connectivity may contribute to a better understanding of the neural basis of male sexual orientation.

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BackgroundSeveral cross-cultural studies have suggested that emotions are influenced by the cultural background. Emotional reactions to International Affective Picture System (IAPS) images were compared between Chinese and American young adults.Methods120 Chinese undergraduates (53 females, 67 males; aged 18-25 years) were enrolled at Zhejiang University, China, and the valence and arousal components of their emotional responses to IAPS images were rated using the Self-Assessment Manikin (SAM) system. Then, valence and arousal scores were compared to those of 100 American undergraduates (50 females, 50 males) of the same age group, enrolled at Florida University and surveyed by Prof. PJ Lang in 2001.ResultsValence scores assigned to 259/816 (31.74%) pictures differed significantly between Chinese and American female participants, while those assigned to 165/816 (20.22%) pictures differed significantly between Chinese and American males (P < 6 × 10-5). Of the 816 pictures, the arousal scores assigned to 101/816 (12.38%) pictures differed significantly between Chinese and American female participants; these scores significantly differed in 130/816 (15.93%) pictures between Chinese and American males (P < 6 × 10-5). Valence scores for pictures in the Erotic category differed significantly between Chinese and American females (P < 6 × 10-5). There were no significant differences in valence scores for the remaining eight categories studied between participants from the two countries, whether female or male.ConclusionsThe IAPS norms require a modification for their appropriate application in Asian cultures.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12888-015-0442-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.