Influence of a genetic variant of the neuronal growth associated protein Stathmin 1 on cognitive and affective control processes: An event‐related potential study

Abstract

Stathmin 1 (STMN1) is a neuronal growth associated protein (NGAP) that is involved in microtubule dynamics and plays an important role in neurite outgrowth and synaptic plasticity. It is highly expressed in the amygdala, but also in different areas of the neocortex including the frontal lobe. Based on previous findings regarding an impact of STMN1 on fear processing, the present study aimed at extending the evidence concerning its functional role to include the domain of executive (frontal lobe) functions. To this end, a group of 59 healthy volunteers stratified for the single-nucleotide polymorphism rs182455 of the STMN1 gene was examined by means of three experimental paradigms probing different aspects of cognitive-affective functioning. Event-related potential measures of cognitive response control, emotional interference processing, and action monitoring were analyzed. STMN1 genotype significantly affected the NoGo-anteriorization (NGA)-a neurophysiological marker of cognitive response control associated with medial prefrontal cortex activation-as well as the modulation of the P300 by the valence of emotional Stroop stimuli. In both cases, carriers of the rs182455 C-allele showed altered cognitive-affective processing; effects appeared to be more pronounced in females. Our findings indicate a functional impact of STMN1 on cognitive and affective control processes, thereby complementing previous evidence on its role in fear processing. Based on these results, an influence of STMN1 should be considered in studies aiming at the etiopathogenesis of a broad range of neuropsychiatric disorders with dysfunctional networking, including neurodegenerative disorders as well as schizophrenia, autism spectrum disorders, anxiety disorders, depression, and ADHD.

Reliability of the emotional Stroop task: An investigation of patients with panic disorder

“…Incorrect trials (i.e. errors or misses) were eliminated and individual reaction times of more than two standard deviations (SD) from a subject's mean were excluded from further analysis (e.g., Dresler et al, 2009;Ehlis et al, 2011). The remaining trials were then averaged for both conditions.…”

Blast Exposure Induces Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder-Related Traits in a Rat Model of Mild Traumatic Brain Injury

“…The changes in stathmin 1 are of interest, as stathmin 1 affects fear responses in mice, 22 and polymorphisms in the stathmin 1 gene have been identified that influence fear and anxiety responses as well as cognitive and affective processing in humans. 53,54 The finding that stathmin 1 is elevated in blast-exposed brain therefore provides a novel target for beginning to understand effects of blast on the brain at the molecular level.…”

Deceivingly dynamic: Learning-dependent changes in stathmin and microtubules

“…Thus, it is not surprising that growing evidence links dysfunction in the adult brain to stathmin and microtubules. Stathmin has been implicated in abnormal states of fear, anxiety, cognition, social behavior, and brain trauma in rodents and humans (Brocke et al, 2010; Ehlis et al, 2011; Elder et al, 2012; Martel et al, 2012; Martel et al, 2008; Shumyatsky et al, 2005), suggesting microtubule involvement in these processes. Common single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the STMN1 gene significantly impacted fear and anxiety responses in humans, measured with the startle and cortisol stress response (Brocke et al, 2010).…”