Variations in 5-HT2A influence spatial cognitive abilities and working memory.

BACKGROUND 5-hydroxytryptamine receptor 2A (5-HT2A) participates in diverse psychiatric disorders by regulating the activity of serotonin. Some previous studies have also suggested that the receptor is involved in cognitive abilities of disease groups. We hypothesize that some functional genetic variants in 5-HT2A have certain specific influences on cognitive abilities in a normal population. METHOD To confirm this hypothesis, two polymorphisms (rs6313 and rs4941573) in 5-HT2A were selected, and a population-based study was performed in a young healthy Chinese Han cohort. RESULTS The results indicated that the rs6313 and rs4941573 were associated with touching blocks and mental rotation-3D error ratio in males, and the rs4941573 was associated with visuo-spatial working memory in the whole cohort. CONCLUSION All the findings suggest that 5-HT2A participates in human spatial cognitive abilities and spatial working memory.