SAP97 rs3915512 Polymorphism Affects the Neurocognition of Schizophrenic Patients: A Genetic Neuroimaging Study

Our previous study suggested that the synapse-associated protein 97 (SAP97) gene rs3915512 polymorphism may influence neurocognition in schizophrenia patients. Neuroimaging studies have shown a possible association between cognitive function and brain activity/connectivity. Considering the poor understanding of whether the disease state and SAP97 rs3915512 polymorphism have interactive effects on brain activity/connectivity, 52 first-episode schizophrenia (FES) patients and 52 healthy controls were genotyped using blood DNA samples and underwent magnetic resonance imaging scanning. A two-way ANCOVA model was performed with rs3915512 genotypes and disease state as the between-subject factors. A significant disease× SAP97 interactive effect was found for the amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF) in the right supplementary motor area (SMA-R), left rolandic opercularis area (ROC-L), and bilateral middle occipital gyrus (MOG). In addition, among auditory/visual-related brain areas, a significant interactive effect was found for resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) between the MOG-L and bilateral superior temporal gyrus (STG) in the STG-L with ROC-R, right cuneus (Cu-R), left fusiform (Fu-L) and left lingual gyrus (LG-L). Positive correlations were found between ALFF in the ROC-L and motor speed scores, between RSFC in the STG-L and LG-L and between BACS verbal memory scores in FES. The SAP97 rs3915512 polymorphism may affect neurocognitive function in patients with schizophrenia by changing the brain activity and connectivity of auditory/visual-related brain areas.