Alcohol and Alcoholism Advance Access originally published online on November 22, 2008
Alcohol and Alcoholism 2009 44(1):2-7; doi:10.1093/alcalc/agn090
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5-HT1A Receptors in the Frontal Cortical Brain Areas in Cloninger Type 1 and 2 Alcoholics Measured by Whole-Hemisphere Autoradiography
1 Department of Biosciences, University of Kuopio, PO Box 1627, Kuopio, Finland,
2 Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Kuopio, PO Box 1627, Kuopio, Finland,
3 Department of Forensic Psychiatry, Niuvanniemi Hospital, University of Kuopio, Kuopio, Finland
* Corresponding author: Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Kuopio, FI-70211 Kuopio, Finland. Tel: +358-17-163-041; Fax: +358-17-162-424; E-mail: markus.storvik{at}uku.fi
Received 10 April 2008; first review notified 24 June 2008; in revised form 11 August 2008; accepted 2 October 2008; advance access publication 22 November 2008
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Abstract |
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Aims: The Cloninger type 1 alcoholics are prone to anxiety, and in many cases patients have begun to use alcohol in order to relieve their anxiety. We have previously reported a decrease of the serotonin transporter density in the perigenual anterior cingulate cortex (pACC) in type 1 alcoholics. The 5-HT1A receptors are the binding sites for anxiolytic drug buspirone. We aimed to investigate the alteration in the density of 5-HT1A receptors, that may also alter the effect of serotonin in the pACC in alcoholics. Methods: The density of the serotonin receptor 5-HT1A among Cloninger type 1 and 2 alcoholics (nine and eight subjects, respectively) and 10 control subjects were determined by postmortem whole-hemisphere autoradiography with WAY-100635. Results: Substantially sparser 5-HT1A (by –31%, P = 0.010) density was observed in the pACC of alcoholic subjects in relation to non-alcoholic comparison subjects. In a secondary analysis for the difference between the alcoholic subtypes and controls, the 5-HT1A density was decreased significantly by –32% (P = 0.015) in the upper level of pACC in type 1 alcoholics. Conclusions: The detected decrease of 5-HT1A receptor density on the pACC suggests further that the serotoninergic system is defected in the so-called affect region, especially in the type 1 alcoholics.
Deceased.