Basic Research in Personality: Molecular Genetics of Personality

National Institute On Aging

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Abstract

Variants of the serotonin transporter gene and NEO-PI-R Neuroticism: No association in the BLSA and SardiNIA samples. Am J Med Genet B Neuropsychiatr Genet, 10.1002/ajmg.b.30932 The polymorphism in the serotonin transporter gene promoter region (5-HTTLPR) is by far the most studied variant hypothesized to influence Neuroticism, depression, and anxiety-related personality traits. The results of previous studies have been mixed and appear moderated by the personality questionnaire used. Studies that used the TCI to assess Harm Avoidance or the EPQ to assess Neuroticism have found no association with the 5-HTTLPR. However, studies that used the NEO-PI-R or related instruments (NEO-PI, NEO-FFI) to measure Neuroticism have found some evidence of association. This study examines the association of variants in the serotonin transporter gene in a sample from a genetically isolated population within Sardinia (Italy) that is several times larger than previous samples that used the NEO-PI-R (N = 3,913). The association was also tested in a sample (N = 548) from the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging (BLSA), in which repeated NEO-PI-R assessments were obtained. In the SardiNIA sample, we found no significant association of the 5-HTTLPR genotypes with Neuroticism or its facets (Anxiety, Angry-Hostility, Depression, Self-Consciousness, Impulsiveness, and Vulnerability). In the BLSA sample, we found lower scores on Neuroticism traits for the heterozygous group, which is inconsistent with previous studies. We also examined eight SNPs in the SardiNIA (N = 3,972) and nine SNPs in the BLSA (N = 1,182) that map within or near the serotonin transporter gene (SLC6A4), and found no association. Along with other large studies that used different phenotypic measures and found no association, this study substantially increases the evidence against a link between 5-HTT variants and Neuroticism-related traits. From the first report of a main effect of the 5-HTTLPR on anxiety-related traits, a large number of studies have explored the association of this variant in clinical samples, in neuroimaging studies, and in gene-gene and gene-environment interaction studies. Most of these studies are based on small samples, and the results from this literature are generally mixed. Considering the results of the current and two other large scale studies that reject a main effect of the 5-HTTLPR on Neuroticism-related phenotypes, even greater caution is required in interpreting the results of studies with small sample sizes that examined complex phenotypes (e.g., amygdala reactivity or response to SSRIs) or complex interactions.