Abstract
Neuropeptide B/W receptor-1 (NPBWR1) is expressed in discrete brain regions in rodents and humans, with particularly strong expression in the limbic system, including the central nucleus of the amygdala. Recently, Nagata-Kuroiwa et al. reported that Npbwr1 −/− mice showed changes in social behavior, suggesting that NPBWR1 plays important roles in the emotional responses of social interactions.The human NPBWR1 gene has a single nucleotide polymorphism at nucleotide 404 (404A>T; SNP rs33977775). This polymorphism results in an amino acid change, Y135F. The results of an in vitro experiment demonstrated that this change alters receptor function. We investigated the effect of this variation on emotional responses to stimuli of showing human faces with four categories of emotional expressions (anger, fear, happiness, and neutral). Subjects' emotional levels on seeing these faces were rated on scales of hedonic valence, emotional arousal, and dominance (V-A-D). A significant genotype difference was observed in valence evaluation; the 404AT group perceived facial expressions more pleasantly than did the 404AA group, regardless of the category of facial expression. Statistical analysis of each combination of [V-A-D and facial expression] also showed that the 404AT group tended to feel less submissive to an angry face than did the 404AA group. Thus, a single nucleotide polymorphism of NPBWR1 seems to affect human behavior in a social context.
Highlights
Recent advances in molecular biology and brain-function imaging technology have enabled us to study genetic influences on emotional responses both behaviorally and physiologically
We genotyped 678 persons and found that 529 were 404AA, 142 were 404AT, and seven were 404TT
Genotyping revealed that the proportion of this Japanese sample with the 404AA genotype of the Neuropeptide B/W receptor-1 (NPBWR1) gene was 71.3%, the proportion with 404AT was 25.3%, and the proportion with 404TT was 3.4% (Table 1A)
Summary
Recent advances in molecular biology and brain-function imaging technology have enabled us to study genetic influences on emotional responses both behaviorally and physiologically. In the serotonergic system, genetic variations in the regulatory region of 5-HT transporters (5HTT) seem to influence the ‘‘harm avoidance’’ trait [1,2] as assessed by the Tri-dimensional Personality Questionnaire [3] and susceptibility to depression [4] as assessed by NEO personality tests [5]. This variability causes differences in amygdala activity as shown by functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) when observing emotional visual stimuli [6]. The Val/ Val group showed a higher learning rate than the Met/Met group, and higher activity in the ventral striatum which was correlated to prediction error
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