The rs1049353 Polymorphism in the CNR1 Gene Interacts With Childhood Abuse to Predict Posttraumatic Threat Symptoms

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To the Editor: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a heterogeneous condition comprising threat/fear (eg, intrusions, avoidance, hypervigilance) and loss/dysphoria (eg, numbing, dysphoric arousal) symptoms. Contemporary scientific efforts in psychiatry, such as the National Institute of Mental Health Research Domain Criteria project, are encouraging studies of the neurobiological and behavioral underpinnings of transdiagnostic aspects of mental disorders, such as threat and loss symptoms, with the goal of developing novel, mechanism-based classifications of psychopathology, which can be used to develop more targeted treatments.

In line with such efforts, we recently found that PTSD is associated with greater cannabinoid type 1 (CB₁) receptor availability4 and that greater CB1 receptor availability in the amygdala was associated with increased threat, but not loss, symptoms in trauma survivors.