DISC1 (disrupted-in-schizophrenia 1) is associated with cortical grey matter volumes in the human brain: A voxel-based morphometry (VBM) study

DISC1 (Disrupted-In-Schizophrenia 1), one of the top candidate genes for schizophrenia, has been associated with a range of major mental illnesses over the last two decades. DISC) is crucially involved in neurodevelopmental processes of the human brain. Several haplotypes and single nucleotide polymorphisms of DISCI have been associated with changes of grey matter volumes in brain regions known to be altered in schizophrenia and other psychiatric disorders. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of two single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of DISCI on grey matter volumes in human subjects using voxel-based morphometry (VBM). 114/113 participating subjects (psychiatric patients and healthy controls) were genotyped with respect to two at-risk SNPs of DISC), rs6675281 and rs821616. All participants underwent structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). MRI data was statistically analyzed using voxel-based morphometry. We found significant alterations of grey matter volumes in prefrontal and temporal brain regions in association with rs6675281 and rs821616. These effects of DISC) polymorphisms on brain morphology provide further support for an involvement of DISC) in the neurobiology of major psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.