P.1.023 Association between oxytocin receptor single nucleotide polymorphism rs2254298 and prepulse inhibition in healthy subjects

and the 5-HT1A BPND in the hippocampus. Post-hoc t-tests were performed for significant results. The level of significance was set to p< 0.05, SPSS 18.0. was used for statistical analyses. Results: Three of the tested BDNF SNPs showed a significant association with the 5-HT1A BPND in the hippocampus (rs10501087: F(2,43) = 3.782, p = 0.031; rs60760775: F(2,43) = 3.435, p = 0.041; rs10767664: F(2,43) = 5.534, p = 0.007). The three other tested SNPs retrieved no significant association (rs1491850, rs1491851, rs61888800). Carriers of the C-allele of the rs10501087 (mean BPND: 5.47±0.96), the T-allele of the rs60760775 (mean BPND: 5.47±0.96) and the T-allele of the rs10767664 (5.14±0.88) displayed highest binding in the hippocampus. All results survived correction using the Fisher’s least significant difference (LSD) procedure in accordance with the “closed test principle”. Conclusion: In accordance with previous preclinical investigations suggesting a strong interaction between BDNF and serotonergic neurotransmission we detected an association between SNPs of BDNF and the 5-HT1A binding potential in the hippocampus [2]. As the 5-HT1A receptor was shown to be altered in several psychiatric disorders this association might be of clinical relevance and broaden the understanding about functional relationships on a neuromolecular level implicated in their pathophysiology [3]. It is thus conceivable that functional polymorphisms of BDNF might contribute to an increased neurobiological vulnerability for psychiatric disorders via direct influence on the 5-HT1A receptor in addition to previously suggested mechanisms.