Genetic covariance between psychopathic traits and anticipatory skin conductance responses to threat: Evidence for a potential endophenotype.

Abstract

The genetic architecture of the association between psychopathic traits and reduced skin conductance responses (SCRs) is poorly understood. By using 752 twins aged 9-10 years, this study investigated the heritability of two SCR measures (anticipatory SCRs to impending aversive stimuli and unconditioned SCRs to the aversive stimuli themselves) in a countdown task. The study also investigated the genetic and environmental sources of the covariance between these SCR measures and two psychopathic personality traits: impulsive/disinhibited (reflecting impulsive-antisocial tendencies) and manipulative/deceitful (reflecting the affective-interpersonal features). For anticipatory SCRs, 27%, 14%, and 59% of the variation was due to genetic, shared environmental, and nonshared environmental effects, respectively, while the percentages for unconditioned SCRs were 44%, 2%, and 54%. The manipulative/deceitful (not impulsive/disinhibited) traits were negatively associated with both anticipatory SCRs (r = -.14, p < .05) and unconditioned SCRs (r = -.17, p < .05) in males only, with the former association significantly accounted for by genetic influences (r g = -.72). Reduced anticipatory SCRs represent a candidate endophenotype for the affective-interpersonal facets of psychopathic traits in males.