The MAOA Gene Influences the Neural Response to Psychosocial Stress in the Human Brain

Xiaoqiang Sun; Qingsen Ming; Xue Zhong; Daifeng Dong; Chuting Li; Ge Xiong; Chang Cheng; Wanyi Cao; Jiayue He; Xiang Wang; Jinyao Yi; Shuqiao Yao

doi:10.3389/fnbeh.2020.00065

The MAOA Gene Influences the Neural Response to Psychosocial Stress in the Human Brain

Front Behav Neurosci. 2020 May 15:14:65. doi: 10.3389/fnbeh.2020.00065. eCollection 2020.

Authors

Xiaoqiang Sun^{1

2

3}, Qingsen Ming^{1

4}, Xue Zhong^{1

2

3}, Daifeng Dong^{1

2

3}, Chuting Li^{1

2

3}, Ge Xiong^{1

2

3}, Chang Cheng^{1

2

3}, Wanyi Cao^{1

2

3}, Jiayue He^{1

2

3}, Xiang Wang^{1

2

3}, Jinyao Yi^{1

2

3}, Shuqiao Yao^{1

2

3}

Affiliations

¹ Medical Psychological Center, The Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, China.
² Medical Psychological Institute of Central South University, Changsha, China.
³ National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders, Changsha, China.
⁴ Department of Psychiatry, The First Affiliated Hospital of Sochoow University, Suzhou, China.

Abstract

The stress response is regulated by many mechanisms. Monoamine oxidase A (MAOA) has been related to many mental illnesses. However, few studies have explored the relationship between MAOA and acute laboratory-induced psychosocial stress with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). In the current study, the Montreal Imaging Stress Task (MIST) and fMRI were used to investigate how MAOA influences the stress response. Increased cortisol concentrations were observed after the task; functional connectivity between the bilateral anterior hippocampus and other brain regions was reduced during stress. MAOA-H allele carriers showed greater deactivation of the right anterior hippocampus and greater cortisol response after stress than did MAOH-L allele carriers. Hippocampal deactivation may lead to disinhibition of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and the initiation of stress hormone release under stress. Our results suggest that the MAOA gene regulates the stress response by influencing the right anterior hippocampus.

Keywords: cortisol; functional magnetic resonance imaging; hippocampus; monoamine oxidase A; stress.