A functional SNP in the synaptic SNAP25 gene is associated with impulsivity in a Colombian sample

Abstract

The aim of the current study was to test the hypothesis that a functional polymorphism in the synaptosome associated protein 25 (SNAP25) gene could be associated with impulsivity scores in a sample of young Colombian subjects. Impulsivity has been postulated as an endophenotype for several psychiatric disorders of high epidemiological relevance. There is a need for the study of additional candidate genes for impulsivity. One hundred seventy-five young Colombian subjects completed the Spanish version of the short form of the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS-15S). A TaqMan assay was used to genotype a functional polymorphism (rs3746544) in the SNAP25 gene. A significant association was found between the functional polymorphism in the SNAP25 gene and impulsivity in the Colombian sample, with subjects carrying T/T and G/G genotypes showing lower mean scores in the non-planning subfactor (p = 0.02). This is the first report of an association of a functional polymorphism in the SNAP25 gene and a subfactor of the BIS-15S scale of impulsivity. In addition, this the first genetic study of impulsivity scores in a Latin American sample. Future studies should explore additional variants in brain-expressed miRNAs and in their binding sites as candidates for impulsivity in different populations.

Keywords: Endophenotypes; Impulsivity; Latin America; Psychiatric genetics; miRNAs.