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SLC6A4 polymorphism, population genetics, and psychiatric traits

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Abstract

5HTTLPR, which is the trivial name for a variable number of tandem repeats (VNTR) polymorphism mapped to the 5′ region of the SLC6A4 (serotonin transporter protein) gene, is one of the most studied variants with respect to psychiatric traits. It is also widely studied in the context of intermediate phenotypes such as neuroimaging measures, and gene-by-environment interaction, the latter generally in the context of affective and anxiety phenotypes. In this article, the author discusses the importance of the variant in the context of a population genetics article published in Human Genetics sixteen years ago.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by National Institutes of Health grants R01 DA12690, R01 AA11330, and R01 AA017535.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry, Genetics and Neurobiology, Yale University School of Medicine and VA CT Healthcare Center, New Haven, CT, USA

    Joel Gelernter

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  1. Joel Gelernter
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Correspondence to Joel Gelernter.

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Hum Genetics 50th Anniversary Issue.

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Gelernter, J. SLC6A4 polymorphism, population genetics, and psychiatric traits. Hum Genet 133, 459–461 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00439-013-1412-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00439-013-1412-2

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