Browsing by Author "Salvatore, Jessica E."

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    A Developmentally-Informative Genome-wide Association Study of Alcohol Use Frequency
    (Springer, 2024) Thomas, Nathaniel S.; Gillespie, Nathan A.; Chan, Grace; Edenberg, Howard J.; Kamarajan, Chella; I-Chun Kuo, Sally; Miller, Alex P.; Nurnberger, John I., Jr.; Tischfield, Jay; Dick, Danielle M.; Salvatore, Jessica E.; Medical and Molecular Genetics, School of Medicine
    Contemporary genome-wide association study (GWAS) methods typically do not account for variability in genetic effects throughout development. We applied genomic structural equation modeling to combine developmentally-informative phenotype data and GWAS to create polygenic scores (PGS) for alcohol use frequency that are specific to developmental stage. Longitudinal cohort studies targeted for gene-identification analyses include the Collaborative Study on the Genetics of Alcoholism (adolescence n = 1,118, early adulthood n = 2,762, adulthood n = 5,255), the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (adolescence n = 3,089, early adulthood n = 3,993, adulthood n = 5,149), and the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC; adolescence n = 5,382, early adulthood n = 3,613). PGS validation analyses were conducted in the COGA sample using an alternate version of the discovery analysis with COGA removed. Results suggest that genetic liability for alcohol use frequency in adolescence may be distinct from genetic liability for alcohol use frequency later in developmental periods. The age-specific PGS predicts an increase of 4 drinking days per year per PGS standard deviation when modeled separately from the common factor PGS in adulthood. The current work was underpowered at all steps of the analysis plan. Though small sample sizes and low statistical power limit the substantive conclusions that can be drawn regarding these research questions, this work provides a foundation for future genetic studies of developmental variability in the genetic underpinnings of alcohol use behaviors and genetically-informed, age-matched phenotype prediction.
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    Alcohol reverses the effects of KCNJ6 (GIRK2) noncoding variants on excitability of human glutamatergic neurons
    (Springer Nature, 2023) Popova, Dina; Gameiro-Ros, Isabel; Youssef, Mark M.; Zalamea, Petronio; Morris, Ayeshia D.; Prytkova, Iya; Jadali, Azadeh; Kwan, Kelvin Y.; Kamarajan, Chella; Salvatore, Jessica E.; Xuei, Xiaoling; Chorlian, David B.; Porjesz, Bernice; Kuperman, Samuel; Dick, Danielle M.; Goate, Alison; Edenberg, Howard J.; Tischfield, Jay A.; Pang, Zhiping P.; Slesinger, Paul A.; Hart, Ronald P.; Medical and Molecular Genetics, School of Medicine
    Synonymous and noncoding single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the KCNJ6 gene, encoding G protein-gated inwardly rectifying potassium channel subunit 2 (GIRK2), have been linked with increased electroencephalographic frontal theta event-related oscillations (ERO) in subjects diagnosed with alcohol use disorder (AUD). To identify molecular and cellular mechanisms while retaining the appropriate genetic background, we generated induced excitatory glutamatergic neurons (iN) from iPSCs derived from four AUD-diagnosed subjects with KCNJ6 variants ("Affected: AF") and four control subjects without variants ("Unaffected: UN"). Neurons were analyzed for changes in gene expression, morphology, excitability and physiological properties. Single-cell RNA sequencing suggests that KCNJ6 AF variant neurons have altered patterns of synaptic transmission and cell projection morphogenesis. Results confirm that AF neurons express lower levels of GIRK2, have greater neurite area, and elevated excitability. Interestingly, exposure to intoxicating concentrations of ethanol induces GIRK2 expression and reverses functional effects in AF neurons. Ectopic overexpression of GIRK2 alone mimics the effect of ethanol to normalize induced excitability. We conclude that KCNJ6 variants decrease GIRK2 expression and increase excitability and that this effect can be minimized or reduced with ethanol.
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    Alcohol Use Disorder, Psychiatric Comorbidities, Marriage and Divorce in a High-risk Sample
    (American Psychological Association, 2022) Thomas, Nathaniel S.; Kuo, Sally I-Chun; Aliev, Fazil; McCutcheon, Vivia V.; Meyers, Jacquelyn M.; Chan, Grace; Hesselbrock, Victor; Kamarajan, Chella; Kinreich, Sivan; Kramer, John R.; Kuperman, Samuel; Lai, Dongbing; Plawecki, Martin H.; Porjesz, Bernice; Schuckit, Marc A.; Dick, Danielle M.; Bucholz, Kathleen K.; Salvatore, Jessica E.; Psychiatry, School of Medicine
    Objective: To examine associations between alcohol use disorder (AUD), its psychiatric comorbidities, and their interactions, with marital outcomes in a diverse high-risk, genetically informative sample. Method: Participants included European ancestry (EA; n = 4,045) and African ancestry (AA; n = 1,550) individuals from the multigenerational Collaborative Study on the Genetics of Alcoholism (COGA) sample (56% female, Mage ∼ 41 years). Outcomes were lifetime marriage and divorce. Predictors included lifetime AUD, an alcohol problems polygenic score (PRS), and AUD comorbidities, including conduct or antisocial personality disorder (ASP), cannabis dependence/abuse (CAN), frequent tobacco use (TOB), and major depressive disorder (MDD). Mixed effect Cox models and generalized linear mixed effects models were fit. Results: Among EA participants, those with AUD and CAN were less likely to marry (hazard ratios [HRs] 0.70-0.83, ps < 0.01). Among AA participants, those with AUD and TOB were less likely to marry (HRs 0.66-0.82, ps < 0.05) and those with MDD were more likely to marry (HR = 1.34, ps < 0.01). Among EA participants, AUD, CAN, TOB, and MDD were associated with higher odds of divorce (odds ratios [ORs] 1.59-2.21, ps < 0.01). Among AA participants, no predictors were significantly associated with divorce. Significant random effects indicated genetic and environmental influences on marriage, but only environmental factors on divorce. Conclusions: In a high-risk sample, AUD was associated with reduced likelihood of marriage in EA and AA individuals and increased risk of divorce in EA individuals. These associations were largely independent of comorbidities. Genetic and environmental background factors contributed to marriage, while only environmental background factors contributed to divorce.
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    Alcohol-Related, Drug-Related, and Non-Substance-Related Aggression: Three Facets of a Single Construct or Three Distinct Constructs?
    (Wiley, 2020-09) Chester, David S.; Bucholz, Kathleen K.; Chan, Grace; Kamarajan, Chella; Pandey, Ashwini K.; Wetherill, Leah; Kramer, John R.; Nurnberger, John I., Jr.; Salvatore, Jessica E.; Dick, Danielle M.; Medical and Molecular Genetics, School of Medicine
    Background: Aggression often occurs alongside alcohol and drug misuse. However, it is not clear whether the latent and manifest relations among alcohol-related, drug-related, and non-substance-related aggression are separate manifestations of a single construct or instead are 3 distinct constructs. Methods: To examine these associations, we conducted a preregistered analysis of 13,490 participants in the Collaborative Study on the Genetics of Alcoholism. In a structured interview, participants reported their lifetime perpetration of these 3 aggression phenotypes. Results: The data were better fit by a model that treated these aggression phenotypes as 3 distinct latent factors, as compared to models in which the items all loaded onto 1 ("general") or 2 ("substance-related" and "non-substance-related") aggression factors. This 3-factor model fit better for men than women. Subsequent exploratory analyses then showed that among these 3 factors, alcohol-related aggression explained the variance of overall aggression better than the other 2 factors. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that these 3 forms of aggression are distinct phenotypes (especially among men). Yet, people's alcohol-related aggression can accurately characterize their overall aggressive tendencies across these domains. Future research will benefit from articulating the unique and shared pathways and risk factors underlying each of these facets of aggression.
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    Association of Polygenic Liability for Alcohol Dependence and EEG Connectivity in Adolescence and Young Adulthood
    (MDPI, 2019-10-17) Meyers, Jacquelyn L.; Chorlian, David B.; Johnson, Emma C.; Pandey, Ashwini K.; Kamarajan, Chella; Salvatore, Jessica E.; Aliev, Fazil; Subbie-Saenz de Viteri, Stacey; Zhang, Jian; Chao, Michael; Kapoor, Manav; Hesselbrock, Victor; Kramer, John; Kuperman, Samuel; Nurnberger, John; Tischfield, Jay; Goate, Alison; Foroud, Tatiana; Dick, Danielle M.; Edenberg, Howard J.; Agrawal, Arpana; Porjesz, Bernice; Medical and Molecular Genetics, School of Medicine
    Differences in the connectivity of large-scale functional brain networks among individuals with alcohol use disorders (AUD), as well as those at risk for AUD, point to dysfunctional neural communication and related cognitive impairments. In this study, we examined how polygenic risk scores (PRS), derived from a recent GWAS of DSM-IV Alcohol Dependence (AD) conducted by the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium, relate to longitudinal measures of interhemispheric and intrahemispheric EEG connectivity (alpha, theta, and beta frequencies) in adolescent and young adult offspring from the Collaborative Study on the Genetics of Alcoholism (COGA) assessed between ages 12 and 31. Our findings indicate that AD PRS (p-threshold < 0.001) was associated with increased fronto-central, tempo-parietal, centro-parietal, and parietal-occipital interhemispheric theta and alpha connectivity in males only from ages 18-31 (beta coefficients ranged from 0.02-0.06, p-values ranged from 10-6-10-12), but not in females. Individuals with higher AD PRS also demonstrated more performance deficits on neuropsychological tasks (Tower of London task, visual span test) as well as increased risk for lifetime DSM-5 alcohol and opioid use disorders. We conclude that measures of neural connectivity, together with neurocognitive performance and substance use behavior, can be used to further understanding of how genetic risk variants from large GWAS of AUD may influence brain function. In addition, these data indicate the importance of examining sex and developmental effects, which otherwise may be masked. Understanding of neural mechanisms linking genetic variants emerging from GWAS to risk for AUD throughout development may help to identify specific points when neurocognitive prevention and intervention efforts may be most effective.
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    Association of substance dependence phenotypes in the COGA sample
    (Wiley, 2015-05) Wetherill, Leah; Agrawal, Arpana; Kapoor, Manav; Bertelsen, Sarah; Bierut, Laura J.; Brooks, Andrew; Dick, Danielle; Hesselbrock, Michie; Hesselbrock, Victor; Koller, Daniel L.; Le, Nhung; Nurnberger Jr., John I.; Salvatore, Jessica E.; Schuckit, Marc; Tischfield, Jay A.; Wang, Jen-Chyong; Xuei, Xiaoling; Edenberg, Howard J.; Porjesz, Bernice; Bucholz, Kathleen; Goate, Alison M.; Foroud, Tatiana; Department of Medical & Molecular Genetics, IU School of Medicine
    Alcohol and drug use disorders are individually heritable (50%). Twin studies indicate that alcohol and substance use disorders share common genetic influences, and therefore may represent a more heritable form of addiction and thus be more powerful for genetic studies. This study utilized data from 2322 subjects from 118 European-American families in the Collaborative Study on the Genetics of Alcoholism sample to conduct genome-wide association analysis of a binary and a continuous index of general substance dependence liability. The binary phenotype (ANYDEP) was based on meeting lifetime criteria for any DSM-IV dependence on alcohol, cannabis, cocaine or opioids. The quantitative trait (QUANTDEP) was constructed from factor analysis based on endorsement across the seven DSM-IV criteria for each of the four substances. Heritability was estimated to be 54% for ANYDEP and 86% for QUANTDEP. One single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), rs2952621 in the uncharacterized gene LOC151121 on chromosome 2, was associated with ANYDEP (P = 1.8 × 10(-8) ), with support from surrounding imputed SNPs and replication in an independent sample [Study of Addiction: Genetics and Environment (SAGE); P = 0.02]. One SNP, rs2567261 in ARHGAP28 (Rho GTPase-activating protein 28), was associated with QUANTDEP (P = 3.8 × 10(-8) ), and supported by imputed SNPs in the region, but did not replicate in an independent sample (SAGE; P = 0.29). The results of this study provide evidence that there are common variants that contribute to the risk for a general liability to substance dependence.
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    Associations between Suicidal Thoughts and Behaviors and Genetic Liability for Cognitive Performance, Depression, and Risk-Taking in a High-Risk Sample
    (Karger, 2021) Johnson, Emma C.; Aliev, Fazil; Meyers, Jacquelyn L.; Salvatore, Jessica E.; Tillman, Rebecca; Chang, Yoonhoo; Docherty, Anna R.; Bogdan, Ryan; Acion, Laura; Chan, Grace; Chorlian, David B.; Kamarajan, Chella; Kuperman, Samuel; Pandey, Ashwini; Plawecki, Martin H.; Schuckit, Marc; Tischfield, Jay; Edenberg, Howard J.; Bucholz, Kathleen K.; Nurnberger, John I.; Porjesz, Bernice; Hesselbrock, Victor; Dick, Danielle M.; Kramer, John R.; Agrawal, Arpana; Psychiatry, School of Medicine
    Background: Suicidal thoughts and behaviors (STBs) and nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) behaviors are moderately heritable and may reflect an underlying predisposition to depression, impulsivity, and cognitive vulnerabilities to varying degrees. Objectives: We aimed to estimate the degrees of association between genetic liability to depression, impulsivity, and cognitive performance and STBs and NSSI in a high-risk sample. Methods: We used data on 7,482 individuals of European ancestry and 3,359 individuals of African ancestry from the Collaborative Study on the Genetics of Alcoholism to examine the links between polygenic scores (PGSs) for depression, impulsivity/risk-taking, and cognitive performance with 3 self-reported indices of STBs (suicidal ideation, persistent suicidal ideation defined as ideation occurring on at least 7 consecutive days, and suicide attempt) and with NSSI. Results: The PGS for depression was significantly associated with all 4 primary self-harm measures, explaining 0.6-2.5% of the variance. The PGS for risk-taking behaviors was also associated with all 4 self-harm behaviors in baseline models, but was no longer associated after controlling for a lifetime measure of DSM-IV alcohol dependence and abuse symptom counts. Polygenic predisposition for cognitive performance was negatively associated with suicide attempts (q = 3.8e-4) but was not significantly associated with suicidal ideation nor NSSI. We did not find any significant associations in the African ancestry subset, likely due to smaller sample sizes. Conclusions: Our results encourage the study of STB as transdiagnostic outcomes that show genetic overlap with a range of risk factors.
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    A Brief Critique of the TATES Procedure
    (Springer, 2018-03) Aliev, Fazil; Salvatore, Jessica E.; Agrawal, Arpana; Almasy, Laura; Chan, Grace; Edenberg, Howard J.; Hesselbrock, Victor; Kuperman, Samuel; Meyers, Jacquelyn; Dick, Danielle M.; Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of Medicine
    The Trait-based test that uses the Extended Simes procedure (TATES) was developed as a method for conducting multivariate GWAS for correlated phenotypes whose underlying genetic architecture is complex. In this paper, we provide a brief methodological critique of the TATES method using simulated examples and a mathematical proof. Our simulated examples using correlated phenotypes show that the Type I error rate is higher than expected, and that more TATES p values fall outside of the confidence interval relative to expectation. Thus the method may result in systematic inflation when used with correlated phenotypes. In a mathematical proof we further demonstrate that the distribution of TATES p values deviates from expectation in a manner indicative of inflation. Our findings indicate the need for caution when using TATES for multivariate GWAS of correlated phenotypes.
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    Clinical, environmental, and genetic risk factors for substance use disorders: characterizing combined effects across multiple cohorts
    (Springer, 2022-10-04) Barr, Peter B.; Driver, Morgan N.; Kuo, Sally I-Chun; Stephenson, Mallory; Aliev, Fazil; Linnér, Richard Karlsson; Marks, Jesse; Anokhin, Andrey P.; Bucholz, Kathleen; Chan, Grace; Edenberg, Howard J.; Edwards, Alexis C.; Francis, Meredith W.; Hancock, Dana B.; Harden, K. Paige; Kamarajan, Chella; Kaprio, Jaakko; Kinreich, Sivan; Kramer, John R.; Kuperman, Samuel; Latvala, Antti; Meyers, Jacquelyn L.; Palmer, Abraham A.; Plawecki, Martin H.; Porjesz, Bernice; Rose, Richard J.; Schuckit, Marc A.; Salvatore, Jessica E.; Dick , Danielle M.; Medical and Molecular Genetics, School of Medicine
    Substance use disorders (SUDs) incur serious social and personal costs. The risk for SUDs is complex, with risk factors ranging from social conditions to individual genetic variation. We examined whether models that include a clinical/environmental risk index (CERI) and polygenic scores (PGS) are able to identify individuals at increased risk of SUD in young adulthood across four longitudinal cohorts for a combined sample of N = 15,134. Our analyses included participants of European (NEUR = 12,659) and African (NAFR = 2475) ancestries. SUD outcomes included: (1) alcohol dependence, (2) nicotine dependence; (3) drug dependence, and (4) any substance dependence. In the models containing the PGS and CERI, the CERI was associated with all three outcomes (ORs = 01.37-1.67). PGS for problematic alcohol use, externalizing, and smoking quantity were associated with alcohol dependence, drug dependence, and nicotine dependence, respectively (OR = 1.11-1.33). PGS for problematic alcohol use and externalizing were also associated with any substance dependence (ORs = 1.09-1.18). The full model explained 6-13% of the variance in SUDs. Those in the top 10% of CERI and PGS had relative risk ratios of 3.86-8.04 for each SUD relative to the bottom 90%. Overall, the combined measures of clinical, environmental, and genetic risk demonstrated modest ability to distinguish between affected and unaffected individuals in young adulthood. PGS were significant but added little in addition to the clinical/environmental risk index. Results from our analysis demonstrate there is still considerable work to be done before tools such as these are ready for clinical applications.
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    Clinical, genomic, and neurophysiological correlates of lifetime suicide attempts among individuals with alcohol dependence
    (medRxiv, 2023-04-29) Barr, Peter B.; Neale, Zoe; Schulman, Jessica; Mullins, Niamh; Zhang, Jian; Chorlian, David B.; Kamarajan, Chella; Kinreich, Sivan; Pandey, Ashwini K.; Pandey, Gayathri; Saenz de Viteri, Stacey; Acion, Laura; Bauer, Lance; Bucholz, Kathleen K.; Chan, Grace; Chao, Michael; Dick, Danielle M.; Edenberg, Howard J.; Foroud, Tatiana; Goate, Alison; Hesselbrock, Victor; Johnson, Emma C.; Kramer, John; Lai, Dongbing; Plawecki, Martin H.; Salvatore, Jessica E.; Wetherill, Leah; Agrawal, Arpana; Porjesz, Bernice; Meyers, Jacquelyn L.; Medical and Molecular Genetics, School of Medicine
    Research has identified clinical, genomic, and neurophysiological markers associated with suicide attempts (SA) among individuals with psychiatric illness. However, there is limited research among those with an alcohol use disorder, despite their disproportionately higher rates of SA. We examined lifetime SA in 4,068 individuals with DSM-IV alcohol dependence from the Collaborative Study on the Genetics of Alcoholism (23% lifetime suicide attempt; 53% female; 17% Admixed African American ancestries; mean age: 38). We 1) explored clinical risk factors associated with SA, 2) conducted a genome-wide association study of SA, 3) examined whether individuals with a SA had elevated polygenic scores for comorbid psychiatric conditions (e.g., alcohol use disorders, lifetime suicide attempt, and depression), and 4) explored differences in electroencephalogram neural functional connectivity between those with and without a SA. One gene-based finding emerged, RFX3 (Regulatory Factor X, located on 9p24.2) which had supporting evidence in prior research of SA among individuals with major depression. Only the polygenic score for suicide attempts was associated with reporting a suicide attempt (OR = 1.20, 95% CI = 1.06, 1.37). Lastly, we observed decreased right hemispheric frontal-parietal theta and decreased interhemispheric temporal-parietal alpha electroencephalogram resting-state coherences among those participants who reported a SA relative to those who did not, but differences were small. Overall, individuals with alcohol dependence who report SA appear to experience a variety of severe comorbidities and elevated polygenic risk for SA. Our results demonstrate the need to further investigate suicide attempts in the presence of substance use disorders.