Abstract
BackgroundEconomic games observe social decision making in the laboratory that involves real money payoffs. Previously we have shown that allocation of funds in the Dictator Game (DG), a paradigm that illustrates costly altruistic behavior, is partially determined by promoter-region repeat region variants in the arginine vasopressin 1a receptor gene (AVPR1a). In the current investigation, the gene encoding the related oxytocin receptor (OXTR) was tested for association with the DG and a related paradigm, the Social Values Orientation (SVO) task.Methodology/Principal FindingsAssociation (101 male and 102 female students) using a robust-family based test between 15 single tagging SNPs (htSNPs) across the OXTR was demonstrated with both the DG and SVO. Three htSNPs across the gene region showed significant association with both of the two games. The most significant association was observed with rs1042778 (p = 0.001). Haplotype analysis also showed significant associations for both DG and SVO. Following permutation test adjustment, significance was observed for 2–5 locus haplotypes (p<0.05). A second sample of 98 female subjects was subsequently and independently recruited to play the dictator game and was genotyped for the three significant SNPs found in the first sample. The rs1042778 SNP was shown to be significant for the second sample as well (p = 0.004, Fisher's exact test).ConclusionsThe demonstration that genetic polymorphisms for the OXTR are associated with human prosocial decision making converges with a large body of animal research showing that oxytocin is an important social hormone across vertebrates including Homo sapiens. Individual differences in prosocial behavior have been shown by twin studies to have a substantial genetic basis and the current investigation demonstrates that common variants in the oxytocin receptor gene, an important element of mammalian social circuitry, underlie such individual differences.
Highlights
The nascent field of neuroeconomics has in a short time made major strides in elucidating the neurobiological underpinnings of social decision making
The demonstration that genetic polymorphisms for the oxytocin receptor (OXTR) are associated with human prosocial decision making converges with a large body of animal research showing that oxytocin is an important social hormone across vertebrates including Homo sapiens
Individual differences in prosocial behavior have been shown by twin studies to have a substantial genetic basis and the current investigation demonstrates that common variants in the oxytocin receptor gene, an important element of mammalian social circuitry, underlie such individual differences
Summary
The nascent field of neuroeconomics has in a short time made major strides in elucidating the neurobiological underpinnings of social decision making. Economic games, which observe human decision making in the laboratory and involve the benefits of real outcomes (real money) and quantifiability, provide a more coherent framework to benchmark social behavior. Combined with brain imaging and pharmacological manipulations, economic games have provided critical insights into the neural circuits which drive economic and social decision cognition [2]. These findings have suggested an evolutionary basis for many of our affective and cognitive biases, other-regarding behavior. Economic games observe social decision making in the laboratory that involves real money payoffs. The gene encoding the related oxytocin receptor (OXTR) was tested for association with the DG and a related paradigm, the Social Values Orientation (SVO) task
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