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Differential Influence of 5-HTTLPR - Polymorphism and COMT Val158Met - Polymorphism on Emotion Perception and Regulation in Healthy Women

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 March 2014

Elisabeth M. Weiss ,
H. Harald Freudenthaler ,
Andreas Fink ,
Eva M. Reiser ,
Harald Niederstätter ,
Simone Nagl ,
Walther Parson  and
Ilona Papousek
Elisabeth M. Weiss*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Biological Psychology Unit, University of Graz, Austria
H. Harald Freudenthaler
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Biological Psychology Unit, University of Graz, Austria
Andreas Fink
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Biological Psychology Unit, University of Graz, Austria
Eva M. Reiser
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Biological Psychology Unit, University of Graz, Austria
Harald Niederstätter
Affiliation:
Institute of Legal Medicine, Innsbruck Medical University, Innsbruck, Austria
Simone Nagl
Affiliation:
Institute of Legal Medicine, Innsbruck Medical University, Innsbruck, Austria
Walther Parson
Affiliation:
Institute of Legal Medicine, Innsbruck Medical University, Innsbruck, Austria Penn State Eberly College of Science, University Park, Pennsylvania
Ilona Papousek
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Biological Psychology Unit, University of Graz, Austria
*
Correspondence and reprint requests to: Elisabeth M. Weiss, University of Graz, Department of Psychology, Univ.-Platz 2, A-8010 Graz, Austria. E-mail: [email protected].
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Abstract

Converging evidence indicates that a considerable amount of variance in self-estimated emotional competency can be directly attributed to genetic factors. The current study examined the associations between the polymorphisms of the Catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT Met158Val) and the serotonin transporter (5-HTTLPR) and specific measures of the self-estimated effectiveness of an individual’s emotion perception and regulation. Emotional competence was measured in a large sample of 289 healthy women by using the Self-report Emotional Ability Scale (SEAS), which includes two subscales for the assessment of emotion perception and regulation in the intra-personal domain and two subscales for the assessment of emotion perception and regulation in the inter-personal domain. Participants’ reports of effective emotion regulation in everyday life were associated with the COMT Met-allele, with women homozygous for the Val-allele scoring lowest on this scale. Self-estimated effectiveness of emotion perception of the individual’s own emotions was related to the 5-HTTLPR. Both homozygous groups (s/s and l/l) rated their intra-personal emotion perception less effective than participants in the heterozygous s/l group. Taken together, the results indicate that genetic variants of the COMT and 5HTTLPR genes are differentially associated with specific measures of the self-estimated effectiveness of an individual’s emotion perception and regulation in the intra-personal domain. (JINS, 2014, 20, 1–9)

Keywords

Genetic polymorphismsCOMT5-HTTLPREmotion perceptionEmotion regulationEmotional competency
Type
Research Articles
Information
Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society , Volume 20 , Issue 5 , May 2014 , pp. 516 - 524
Copyright
Copyright © The International Neuropsychological Society 2014 

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