The risk variant in ODZ4 for bipolar disorder impacts on amygdala activation during reward processing

Methods: We examined the impact of the risk variant rs12576775 on functional magnetic resonance imaging data in an adolescent sample (N = 485). Differential activation between carriers of the risk allele (G-allele) and homozygous A-allele carriers in the amygdala and the striatum during a modification of the monetary incentive delay task (examining reward) and a face task (examining emotion) was analyzed. Results: Carriers of the risk allele showed an increased blood oxygen level-dependent response in the amygdala during reward sensitivity (p = 0.05) and reward expectation (p < 0.05) but not during the face task. No significant group differences were found in the striatum during both reward and emotion processing. Conclusion: Our results indicate that the ODZ4 risk variant influences reward processing in the amygdala. Alterations in the processing of emotion may have different underlying mechanisms and need to be further examined.