Association between mitochondrial DNA 10398A>G polymorphism and the volume of amygdala

Mitochondrial calcium regulation plays a number of important roles in neurons. Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is highly polymorphic, and its interindividual variation is associated with various neuropsychiatric diseases and mental functions. An mtDNA polymorphism, 10398A>G, was reported to affect mitochondrial calcium regulation. Volume of hippocampus and amygdala is reportedly associated with various mental disorders and mental functions and is regarded as an endophenotype of mental disorders. The present study investigated the relationship between the mtDNA 10398A>G polymorphism and the volume of hippocampus and amygdala in 118 right-handed healthy subjects. The brain morphometry using magnetic resonance images employed both manual tracing volumetry in the native space and voxel-based morphometry (VBM) in the spatially normalized space. Amygdala volume was found to be significantly larger in healthy subjects with 10398A than in those with 10398G by manual tracing, which was confirmed by the VBM. Brain volumes in the other gray matter regions and all white matter regions showed no significant differences associated with the polymorphism. These provocative findings might provide a clue to the complex relationship between mtDNA, brain structure and mental disorders.