Abstract
Oxytocin receptor gene single nucleotide polymorphisms have been associated with structural and functional alterations in brain regions, which involve social-emotional processing. Therefore, oxytocin receptor gene polymorphisms may contribute to individual differences in alexithymia, which is considered to be a dysfunction of emotional processing. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between oxytocin receptor gene single nucleotide polymorphisms or haplotypes and alexithymia in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder. We recruited 355 patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (234 men, 121 women). Alexithymia was measured by using the Toronto Alexithymia Scale. We performed single-marker and haplotype association analyses with eight single nucleotide polymorphisms (rs237885, rs237887, rs2268490, rs4686301, rs2254298, rs13316193, rs53576, and rs2268498) in the oxytocin receptor gene. There were no significant associations between any of the eight single nucleotide polymorphism of the oxytocin receptor gene and alexithymia. In addition, a six-locus haplotype block (rs237885-rs237887-rs2268490-rs4686301-rs2254298-rs13316193) was not significantly associated with alexithymia. These findings suggest that genetic variations in the oxytocin receptor gene may not explain a significant part of alexithymia in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Highlights
Alexithymia is characterized by difficulties in recognizing and effectively expressing one's own feelings [1]
These findings suggest that there are some genetic influences on various human traits related to emotional processing, including alexithymia and other prosocial behaviors
The TAS-20 were significantly correlated with the total YaleBrown obsessive-compulsive scale (Y-BOCS) and MADRS scores, and age, the size of the correlation between the TAS-20 scores and the Y-BOCS or age were negligible, we used these factors as covariates in subsequent analyses to control for their potential effects on alexithymia
Summary
Alexithymia is characterized by difficulties in recognizing and effectively expressing one's own feelings [1] It is difficult for highly alexithymic individuals to distinguish or appreciate the emotions of others [2], and this trait results in an unempathic and ineffective emotional response [3]. Twin studies reported that the heritabilities of empathy, altruism, and nurturance ranged between 56–72%, and the effect of the shared environment was negligible [8, 9]. These findings suggest that there are some genetic influences on various human traits related to emotional processing, including alexithymia and other prosocial behaviors
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