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Updated: Feb 4, 2026

Isolation, Culture and Long-Term Maintenance of Primary Mesencephalic Dopaminergic Neurons From Embryonic Rodent Brains
Published on: February 19, 2015
Exploring the moderating effects of dopaminergic polymorphisms and childhood adversity on brain morphology in
Cassandra Hoffmann1, Tamsyn E Van Rheenen2, Serafino G Mancuso1
1Melbourne Neuropsychiatry Centre, Department of Psychiatry, University of Melbourne and Melbourne Health, Melbourne, Australia.
Abstract:
Genetic and environmental etiologies may contribute to schizophrenia and its associated neurobiological profile. We examined the interaction between dopaminergic polymorphisms, childhood adversity and diagnosis (schizophrenia/schizoaffective disorder) on dopamine-related brain structures. Childhood adversity histories and structural MRI data were obtained from 249 (153 schizophrenia/schizoaffective, 96 controls) participants registered in the Australian Schizophrenia Research Bank. Polymorphisms in DRD2 and COMT were genotyped and a dopaminergic risk allelic load (RAL) was calculated. Regression analysis was used to test the main and interaction effects of RAL, childhood adversity and diagnosis on volumes of dopamine-related brain structures (caudate, putamen, nucleus accumbens, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and hippocampus). A schizophrenia/schizoaffective diagnosis showed significant main effects on bilateral hippocampus, left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and bilateral putamen volumes. RAL showed a significant main effect on left putamen volumes. Furthermore, across the whole sample, a significant two-way interaction between dopaminergic RAL and childhood adversity was found for left putamen volumes. No brain structure volumes were predicted by a three-way interaction that included diagnosis. Our finding suggests the left putamen may be particularly sensitive to dopaminergic gene-environment interactions regardless of diagnosis. However, larger studies are needed to assess whether these interactions are more or less pronounced in those with schizophrenia/schizoaffective disorders.
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