Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
Biol Psychiatry. 2012 Mar 1;71(5):419-26. doi: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2011.09.002. Epub 2011 Oct 19.
In specific vole and primate species the neuropeptide oxytocin plays a central role in the regulation of pair-bonding behavior. Here we investigate the extent to which genetic variants in the oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR) are associated with pair-bonding and related social behaviors in humans.
We first genotyped twelve single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the TOSS (Twin and Offspring Study in Sweden) (n = 2309) and the TCHAD (Swedish Twin Study of Child and Adolescent Development) (n = 1240), comprising measures of self-reported pair-bonding behavior. In the TOSS sample we further investigated one of the SNPs for measures of marital status and quality. Moreover, in the TCHAD sample we explored the longitudinal relationship between precursors of pair-bonding during childhood and subsequent behavior in romantic relationships. Finally, in the TCHAD study and in the Child and Adolescent Twin Study of Sweden (CATSS) (n = 1771), the association between the same SNP and childhood behaviors was investigated.
One SNP (rs7632287) in OXTR was associated with traits reflecting pair-bonding in women in the TOSS and TCHAD samples. In girls the rs7632287 SNP was further associated with childhood social problems, which longitudinally predicted pair-bonding behavior in the TCHAD sample. This association was replicated in the CATSS sample in which an association between the same SNP and social interaction deficit symptoms from the autism spectrum was detected.
These results suggest an association between variation in OXTR and human pair-bonding and other social behaviors, possibly indicating that the well-described influence of oxytocin on affiliative behavior in voles could also be of importance for humans.
在特定的田鼠和灵长类动物中，神经肽催产素在调节伴侣关系行为中起着核心作用。在这里，我们研究了催产素受体基因（OXTR）中的遗传变异与人类伴侣关系和相关社会行为的关联程度。
我们首先在双胞胎和后代研究（瑞典）（n = 2309）和儿童和青少年发展的瑞典双胞胎研究（n = 1240）中对 OXTR 的 12 个单核苷酸多态性（SNP）进行了基因分型，包括自我报告的伴侣关系行为的测量。在 TOSS 样本中，我们进一步研究了一个 SNP 对婚姻状况和质量的测量。此外，在 TCHAD 样本中，我们探讨了儿童期伴侣关系前体与随后浪漫关系中行为之间的纵向关系。最后，在 TCHAD 研究和瑞典儿童和青少年双胞胎研究（CATSS）（n = 1771）中，研究了同一 SNP 与儿童行为之间的关系。
OXTR 中的一个 SNP（rs7632287）与 TOSS 和 TCHAD 样本中女性的伴侣关系特征相关。在女孩中，rs7632287 SNP 还与儿童期社会问题相关，这些问题在 TCHAD 样本中纵向预测了伴侣关系行为。这一关联在 CATSS 样本中得到了复制，在该样本中，检测到同一 SNP 与自闭症谱系的社会互动缺陷症状之间存在关联。
这些结果表明 OXTR 变异与人类伴侣关系和其他社会行为之间存在关联，这可能表明，在田鼠中描述良好的催产素对依附行为的影响对人类也可能很重要。
