Procyshyn Tanya L, Spence Jason, Read Silven, Watson Neil V, Crespi Bernard J
Department of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby, Canada V5A 1S6.
Department of Psychology, Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby, Canada V5A 1S6.
Biol Lett. 2017 Apr;13(4). doi: 10.1098/rsbl.2017.0051.
The neurohormone oxytocin plays a central role in human social behaviour and cognition, and oxytocin dysregulation may contribute to psychiatric disorders. However, genetic factors influencing individual variation in the oxytocinergic system remain poorly understood. We genotyped 169 healthy adults for a functional polymorphism in (), a gene associated with high prosociality and reduced social anxiety in Williams syndrome, a condition reported to involve high oxytocin levels and reactivity. Participants' salivary oxytocin levels were measured before and after watching a validated empathy-inducing video. Oxytocin reactivity, defined as pre- to post-video percentage change in salivary oxytocin, varied substantially and significantly between individuals with different genotypes, with, additionally, a trend towards an interaction between genotype and sex. Individuals with more oxytocin-reactive genotypes also reported significantly lower social anxiety. These findings suggest a model whereby has a continuum of effects on human sociality, from the extreme social phenotypes and oxytocin dysregulation associated with gene deletion in Williams syndrome, to individual differences in oxytocin reactivity and sociality associated with common polymorphisms in healthy populations.
神经激素催产素在人类社会行为和认知中起着核心作用，催产素失调可能导致精神疾病。然而，影响催产素能系统个体差异的遗传因素仍知之甚少。我们对169名健康成年人进行了基因分型，检测了（）基因中的一个功能多态性，该基因与威廉姆斯综合征中的高度亲社会行为和社交焦虑降低有关，据报道，威廉姆斯综合征患者的催产素水平和反应性较高。在观看一段经过验证的引发同理心的视频前后，测量了参与者的唾液催产素水平。催产素反应性定义为视频前后唾液催产素的百分比变化，在不同基因型的个体之间有很大且显著的差异，此外，基因型和性别之间还有相互作用的趋势。催产素反应性基因型较多的个体也报告社交焦虑显著较低。这些发现表明了一种模式，即（）基因对人类社交性有连续的影响，从与威廉姆斯综合征基因缺失相关的极端社会表型和催产素失调，到与健康人群常见多态性相关的催产素反应性和社交性的个体差异。
