Flory J D, Manuck S B, Ferrell R E, Dent K M, Peters D G, Muldoon M F
Department of Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA.
Mol Psychiatry. 1999 Jan;4(1):93-6. doi: 10.1038/sj.mp.4000466.
A deletion/insertion polymorphism in the transcriptional control region of the serotonin transporter gene (5-HTTLPR) was reported to be associated with dimensional measures of neuroticism, although subsequent replication attempts have failed. These replication attempts, however, have been dissimilar to the initial study in sample size, distribution of allelic frequency and/or assessment of neuroticism. The current study was conducted in a further attempt to replicate the initial finding using: (a) a sample that was more comparable to each of the individual samples in the initial report; and (b) identical psychometric methodology to assess neuroticism. Two hundred and twenty-five Caucasian adults were genotyped for the 5-HTTLPR polymorphism and completed the NEO Personality Inventory. Results did not replicate the association between the 5-HTTLPR polymorphism and neuroticism; individuals with the short form of this variant did not report higher NEO Neuroticism. Indeed, men with the short form reported lower Anxiety, a finding that is directionally opposite to the initial results. These findings, combined with other failures to replicate, indicate that the reproducibility of the association between the 5-HTTLPR polymorphism and neuroticism must be regarded as questionable. The contradictory findings suggest the need for a replication attempt in a large, normative sample that is stratified by ethnicity and sex.
据报道，血清素转运体基因（5-HTTLPR）转录控制区域的缺失/插入多态性与神经质的维度测量值相关，尽管随后的重复验证尝试均告失败。然而，这些重复验证尝试在样本量、等位基因频率分布和/或神经质评估方面与最初的研究有所不同。当前的研究旨在进一步尝试重复最初的发现，方法如下：（a）使用一个与最初报告中的每个单独样本更具可比性的样本；（b）采用相同的心理测量方法来评估神经质。对225名高加索成年人进行了5-HTTLPR多态性基因分型，并完成了大五人格量表。结果并未重复5-HTTLPR多态性与神经质之间的关联；该变体短型的个体并未报告更高的大五人格量表神经质得分。事实上，短型的男性报告的焦虑程度更低，这一发现与最初的结果方向相反。这些发现，再加上其他重复验证失败的情况，表明5-HTTLPR多态性与神经质之间关联的可重复性必须被视为存在疑问。相互矛盾的研究结果表明，有必要在一个按种族和性别分层的大型标准化样本中进行重复验证尝试。
