Dobewall Henrik, Saarinen Aino, Lyytikäinen Leo-Pekka, Keltikangas-Järvinen Liisa, Lehtimäki Terho, Hintsanen Mirka
Research Unit of Psychology, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland.
Department of Psychology and Logopedics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
Front Psychol. 2021 Apr 8;12:576346. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.576346. eCollection 2021.
We define compassion as an enduring disposition that centers upon empathetic concern for another person's suffering and the motivation to act to alleviate it. The contribution of specific candidate genes to the development of dispositional compassion for others is currently unknown. We examine candidate genes in the oxytocin and dopamine signaling pathways. In a 32-year follow-up of the Young Finns Study ( = 2,130, 44.0% men), we examined with multiple indicators latent growth curve modeling the molecular genetic underpinnings of dispositional compassion for others across the life span. We selected five single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) whose functions are known in humans: rs2268498 (OXTR), rs3796863 (CD38) (related to lower oxytocin levels), rs1800497 (ANKK1/DRD2), rs4680 (COMT), and rs1611115 (DBH) (related to higher dopamine levels). Compassion was measured with Cloninger's Temperament and Character Inventory on three repeated observations spanning 15 years (1997-2012). Differences between gender were tested. We did not find an effect of the five SNPs in oxytocin and dopamine pathway genes on the initial levels of dispositional compassion for others. Individuals who carry one or two copies of the T-allele of DBH rs1611115, however, tend to increase faster in compassion over time than those homozygotes for the C-allele, b = 0.063 (SE = 0.027; = 0.018). This effect was largely driven by male participants, 0.206 (SE = 0.046; < 0.001), and was not significant in female participants when analyzed separately. Men who are known to have, on average, lower compassion than women seem to reduce this difference over time if they carry the T-allele of DBH rs1611115. The direction of the association indicates that dopamine signaling activity rather than overall dopamine levels might drive the development of compassion.
我们将同情心定义为一种持久的性情，它以对他人痛苦的同理心关注以及采取行动减轻痛苦的动机为核心。目前尚不清楚特定候选基因对他人性情同情心发展的贡献。我们研究了催产素和多巴胺信号通路中的候选基因。在对芬兰青年研究（n = 2130，44.0%为男性）进行的32年随访中，我们使用多个指标，通过潜在增长曲线模型研究了一生中对他人性情同情心的分子遗传基础。我们选择了五个在人类中功能已知的单核苷酸多态性（SNP）：rs2268498（OXTR）、rs3796863（CD38）（与较低的催产素水平相关）、rs1800497（ANKK1/DRD2）、rs4680（COMT）和rs1611115（DBH）（与较高的多巴胺水平相关）。同情心通过克隆宁格气质与性格量表在跨越15年（1997 - 2012年）的三次重复观察中进行测量。对性别差异进行了检验。我们没有发现催产素和多巴胺通路基因中的五个SNP对他人性情同情心的初始水平有影响。然而，携带DBH rs1611115的T等位基因一个或两个拷贝的个体，其同情心随时间的增长往往比那些C等位基因纯合子更快，b = 0.063（标准误 = 0.027；p = 0.018）。这种效应在很大程度上由男性参与者驱动，b = 0.206（标准误 = 0.046；p < 0.001），单独分析时在女性参与者中不显著。已知平均而言同情心低于女性的男性，如果携带DBH rs1611115的T等位基因，随着时间推移似乎会缩小这种差异。这种关联的方向表明，多巴胺信号活动而非总体多巴胺水平可能驱动同情心的发展。
