A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal
The role of oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR) and mother's emotional warmth in predicting adulthood sociability
Authors: Henrik Dobewall, Christian Hakulinen, Laura Pulkki-Råback, Ilkka Seppälä, Terho Lehtimäki, Olli T. Raitakari, Liisa Keltikangas-Järvinen, Mirka Hintsanen
Publisher: PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD
Publication year: 2018
Journal: Personality and Individual Differences
Journal name in source: PERSONALITY AND INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES
Journal acronym: PERS INDIV DIFFER
Volume: 125
First page : 74
Last page: 79
Number of pages: 6
ISSN: 0191-8869
eISSN: 1873-3549
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2017.12.030
Abstract
The oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR) may function as a "plasticity gene" that increases or decreases sociability in those individuals susceptible to growing up in a beneficial versus more adverse environment. This study used data from 2289 (55% female) participants from the ongoing prospective Young Finns Study. Maternal emotional warmth was assessed in 1980 when the participants were 3-18 years old. Participants' sociability temperament was measured at five follow-ups, from 1992 to 2012. Emotional warmth in childhood and OXTR genotype were not directly associated with temperamental sociability. We found a nominally significant gene environment interaction (p = .03) suggesting that participants with a genetic profile of rs1042778 T-allele and rs2254298 A-allele are affected high versus low emotional warmth, whereas homozygotes of both G-alleles are unaffected by the same environmental influence. Our findings should be, however, interpreted as a null result as the interaction effect did not survive correction for multiple testing.
The oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR) may function as a "plasticity gene" that increases or decreases sociability in those individuals susceptible to growing up in a beneficial versus more adverse environment. This study used data from 2289 (55% female) participants from the ongoing prospective Young Finns Study. Maternal emotional warmth was assessed in 1980 when the participants were 3-18 years old. Participants' sociability temperament was measured at five follow-ups, from 1992 to 2012. Emotional warmth in childhood and OXTR genotype were not directly associated with temperamental sociability. We found a nominally significant gene environment interaction (p = .03) suggesting that participants with a genetic profile of rs1042778 T-allele and rs2254298 A-allele are affected high versus low emotional warmth, whereas homozygotes of both G-alleles are unaffected by the same environmental influence. Our findings should be, however, interpreted as a null result as the interaction effect did not survive correction for multiple testing.
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