The association between childhood maltreatment and empathic perspective taking is moderated by the 5-HTT linked polymorphic region
- Previous research has suggested that the short (S)-allele of the 5-HT transporter gene-linked polymorphic region (5-HTTLPR) may confer "differential susceptibility" to environmental impact with regard to the expression of personality traits, depressivity and impulsivity. However, little is known about the role of 5-HTTLPR concerning the association between childhood adversity and empathy. Here, we analyzed samples of 137 healthy participants and 142 individuals diagnosed with borderline personality disorder (BPD) focusing on the 5-HTTLPR genotype (S/L-carrier) and A/G SNP (rs25531), in relation to childhood maltreatment and empathy traits. Whereas no between-group difference in 5-HTTLPR genotype distribution emerged, the S-allele selectively moderated the impact of childhood maltreatment on empathic perspective taking, whereby low scores in childhood trauma were associated with superior perspective taking. In contrast, L-homozygotes seemed to be largely unresponsive to variation in environmental conditions in relation to empathy, suggesting that the S-allele confers "differential susceptibility". Moreover, a moderation analysis and tests for differential susceptibility yielded similar results when transcriptional activity of the serotonin transporter gene was taken into account. In conclusion, our findings suggest that the S-allele of the 5-HTTLPR is responsive to early developmental contingencies for "better and worse", i.e. conferring genetic plasticity, especially with regard to processes involving emotional resonance.
Author: | Vera FlasbeckORCiDGND, Dirk MoserORCiDGND, Johanna PakuschORCiDGND, Robert KumstaORCiDGND, Martin BrüneORCiDGND |
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URN: | urn:nbn:de:hbz:294-73712 |
DOI: | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0226737 |
Parent Title (English): | PLoS ONE |
Subtitle (English): | another example of "differential susceptibility" |
Publisher: | Public Library of Science |
Place of publication: | San Francisco |
Document Type: | Article |
Language: | English |
Date of Publication (online): | 2020/07/22 |
Date of first Publication: | 2019/12/19 |
Publishing Institution: | Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Universitätsbibliothek |
Tag: | Open Access Fonds |
Volume: | 14 |
Issue: | 12, Artikel e0226737 |
First Page: | e0226737-1 |
Last Page: | e0226737-15 |
Note: | Article Processing Charge funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) and the Open Access Publication Fund of Ruhr-Universität Bochum. |
Institutes/Facilities: | LWL-Universitätsklinikum Bochum, Klinik für Psychiatrie, Psychotherapie und Präventivmedizin |
Research Department of Neuroscience | |
open_access (DINI-Set): | open_access |
Licence (English): | Creative Commons - CC BY 4.0 - Attribution 4.0 International |