The vasopressin system has been implicated in the regulation of social behavior and cognition in humans, nonhuman primates and other social mammals. In chimpanzees, polymorphisms in the vasopressin V1a receptor gene (AVPR1A) have been associated with social dimensions of personality, as well as to responses to sociocommunicative cues and mirror self‐recognition. Despite evidence of this association with social cognition and behavior, there is little research on the neuroanatomical correlates of AVPR1A variation. In the current study, we tested the association between AVPR1A polymorphisms in the RS3 promotor region and gray matter covariation in chimpanzees using magnetic resonance imaging and source‐based morphometry. The analysis identified 13 independent brain components, three of which differed significantly in covariation between the two AVPR1A genotypes (DupB−/− and DupB+/−; P < .05). DupB+/− chimpanzees showed greater covariation in gray matter in the premotor and prefrontal cortex, basal forebrain, lunate and cingulate cortex, and lesser gray matter covariation in the superior temporal sulcus and postcentral sulcus. Some of these regions were previously found to differ in vasopressin and oxytocin neural fibers between nonhuman primates, and in AVPR1A gene expression in humans with different RS3 alleles. This is the first report of an association between AVPR1A and gray matter covariation in nonhuman primates, and specifically links an AVPR1A polymorphism to structural variation in the social brain network. These results further affirm the value of chimpanzees as a model species for investigating the relationship between genetic variation, brain structure and social cognition with relevance to psychiatric disorders, including autism.

中文翻译：

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AVPR1A变异与黑猩猩的社交脑网络中的灰质协变有关。

加压素系统与人类，非人类灵长类和其他社会哺乳动物的社会行为和认知调节有关。在黑猩猩中，加压素V1a受体基因（AVPR1A）的多态性与人格的社会维度以及对社会交际线索的反应和镜像自我认知有关。尽管有证据表明这种关联与社会认知和行为有关，但对AVPR1A变异的神经解剖相关性的研究很少。在本研究中，我们测试了AVPR1A之间的关联RS3启动子区域的多态性和黑猩猩的灰质协变，使用磁共振成像和基于源的形态计量学。该分析确定了13个独立的大脑成分，其中两个AVPR1A基因型之间的协变量差异显着（DupB-/-和DupB + /-/；P  <.05）。DupB +/-黑猩猩在运动前和额叶前皮层，基底前脑，发光和扣带状皮层的灰质中显示较大的协变，而在颞上沟和中枢后沟中的灰质协变较小。先前发现这些区域中的某些区域在非人类灵长类动物和AVPR1A中的加压素和催产素神经纤维不同RS3等位基因在人类中的基因表达。这是有关AVPR1A与非人类灵长类动物灰质共变之间相关性的首次报道，并且特别将AVPR1A多态性与社交脑网络中的结构变异相关联。这些结果进一步证实了黑猩猩作为模型物种的价值，该物种用于研究遗传变异，大脑结构和社会认知与包括自闭症在内的精神疾病有关。