Association of dopamine D4 receptor (DRD4) exon III repeat polymorphism with temperament in 3-year-old infants

Luca, Alessandro De; Rizzardi, Mario; Buccino, Anna; Alessandroni, Rosina; Gp, Salvioli; Filograsso, Nando; Novelli, Giuseppe; Dallapiccola, Bruno

doi:10.1007/s10048-003-0146-z

Cited by 37 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…The results of our study are in accordance with the view that temperament is often under genetic control 18,19 and, therefore, independent of environmental influences. 19 In partial support of this view, recent research has identified various genetic polymorphisms related to specific temperament traits.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

“…19 In partial support of this view, recent research has identified various genetic polymorphisms related to specific temperament traits. [18][19][20][21] Progressive differentiation of the central nervous system correlates with the development of general movements in the early fetal period, whereas transient organization and further maturation of central nervous system is expressed as a behavioral pattern resembling goal-directed behavior in the late fetal period and transient behavioral pattern in the early neonatal period. 22 The results of our study suggest a need for further investigation of prenatal twins' activity in a larger sample.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Twins’ temperament: early prenatal sonographic assessment and postnatal correlation

et al. 2009

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Objective: To study inter-twin differences in activity during early pregnancy and to examine their relationship to subsequent infant twins' temperament.Study Design: Measures of fetal motor activity (frequency, duration and number of movements) were collected from 26 twin pairs during ultrasound nuchal translucency scan at late first trimester and early second trimester (11 to 14 weeks gestation). In twenty-two patients, the twins were dizygotic (dichorionic); of them, 13 twin pairs were of different sexes, five were both females and four were both males. Of the four monozygotic twin pregnancies, two were dichorionic and two were monochorionic, three were both females.The more active fetus in each pair was noted according to the position and/or sex without reporting to parents. Reported maternal perception of the more active twin was documented at the mid-trimester anatomical scan.Maternally reported postnatal temperament data of the infants were collected at 3 and 6 months, using Rothbarts' Infant Behavior Questionnaire (IBQ).Results: After birth, maternal reports on infants' temperament and the more active twin in each pair were in good correlation with prenatal inter-twin differences in activity. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves shows a better performance of ultrasound compared with maternal perception in prediction of the more active twin. Conclusions:The features of fetal neurobehavioral activity provide the basis for individual differences in twins' activity in infancy. Differences in activity in early pregnancy even before the emergence of fetal behavioral patterns were followed by temperamental differences postnatally. Keywords: twins; temperament; ultrasound; fetal movements; activity Introduction Fetal motor activity seems to predict temperament attributes related to regulatory behaviors in early childhood. 1 Using fourdimensional (4D) ultrasonography for the assessment of fetal behavior, a continuity from fetal to neonatal behavior was shown, 2 especially in terms of isolated eye blinking movements, mouth and eyelid opening, yawning, tongue expulsion, smiling, scowling and hand movements directed to other parts of the face.Physiological markers of individual differences in infant temperament are identifiable in the fetal period, and are possibly shaped by the prenatal environment. 3 Twins' gestations provide an opportunity to study the behavioral differences between pairs. Temperament variations were studied from the neonatal period to childhood. [4][5][6][7] Twin and adoption studies suggest that individual differences in infant and child temperament are genetically influenced. 8 Developmental aspects of behavioral organization were investigated in fetuses during the second and third trimester. Fetal behavioral states were defined according to the pattern and sequence of fetal motor activities throughout this period. [9][10][11] However, behavioral state variables before 36 weeks of gestation are not synchronized.Our objective was to study inter-twin differences in activity during e...

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Twins’ temperament: early prenatal sonographic assessment and postnatal correlation

et al. 2009

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“…Because certain temperament traits, such as behavioral inhibition and negative emotionality, are risk factors for psychopathology in later childhood (Biederman et al, 2001;Perkins et al, 1995) (Fendrich, Mackesy-Amiti, Johnson, Hubbell, & Wislar, 2005) their developmental determinates are of great interest. Temperament often is thought to be under genetic control (De Luca et al, 2001;De Luca et al, 2003;Goldsmith & Lemery, 2000; and therefore independent of environmental influences (Marshall et al). In partial support of this view, recent research has identified various genetic polymorphisms related to specific temperament traits (De Luca et al, 2000Dragan and Oniszczenko, 2005;Goldsmith and Lemery, 2000;Oniszczenko and Dragan, 2005).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prenatal predictors of infant temperament

Werner

Myers

Fifer

et al. 2007

Developmental Psychobiology

110

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Emerging data suggest that prenatal factors influence children's temperament. In 50 dyads, we examined fetal heart rate (FHR) activity and women's antenatal psychiatric illness as predictors of infant temperament at 4 months (response to novelty and the Infant Behavior Checklist). FHR change during maternal challenge was positively associated with observed infant motor reactivity to novelty (p = .02). The odds of being classified as high versus low motor among fetuses who had an increase in FHR during maternal stress was 11 times those who had a decrease in FHR (p = .0006). Antenatal psychiatric diagnosis was associated with an almost fourfold greater odds of having a high cry reactivity classification (p = .03). There also were modest associations between baseline FHR and maternal reports of infant temperament and between observed temperament and that based on mothers' reports. All of the infant results were found independent of the influence of women's postnatal anxiety. These data indicate that physiological markers of individual differences in infant temperament are identifiable in the fetal period, and possibly shaped by the prenatal environment.

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“…117,[160][161][162][163][164][165] As we first noted, 164,165 the study of temperament traits in children offers the opportunity to study gene effects at a time in development when environmental effects are conjectured to be minimal and genetic associations might be more robustly demonstrated.…”

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confidence: 99%

The molecular genetic architecture of human personality: beyond self-report questionnaires

2006

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Molecular genetic studies of personality began with two high impact papers in 1996 that showed provisional associations between the dopamine DRD4 exon III repeat region and Novelty Seeking/Extraversion. These first two reports were shortly followed by an investigation linking Neuroticism/Harm Avoidance with the serotonin transporter (SLC6A4) promoter region polymorphism (5-HTTLPR). In the ensuing decade, thousands of subjects have been studied for association between these genes and personality, assessed by using self-report questionnaires, with erratic success in replication of the first findings for Novelty Seeking (DRD4) and Harm Avoidance (5-HTTLPR). Small effect sizes characteristic of non-Mendelian traits, polygenic patterns of inheritance and true heterogeneity between studies confound attempts to reach a consensus regarding the role of common polymorphisms in contributing to personality domains. Nevertheless, the current state of personality genetics is far from being bleak. Several new paradigms especially functional neuroimaging or 'imaging genomics' have strengthened the connection between 5-HTTLPR and anxiety-related personality traits. The demonstrations that early environmental information can considerably strengthen and even uncover associations between genes and behavior (Caspi's seminal studies and more recently the demonstration that early environment impacts on DRD4 and Novelty Seeking) are notable and herald a new era of personality genetics. Finally, consideration of the broader phenotypic expression of common polymorphisms (e.g. the 'social brain', altruism, etc.) and the use of new experimental paradigms including neurophysiological, neuropsychological and computer games that go beyond the narrow self-report questionnaire design will enable a deeper understanding of how common genetic polymorphisms modulate human behavior. Human personality, defined by Webster as the quality or state of being a person or the complex of characteristics that distinguishes an individual, surely requires a more encompassing view towards understanding its complex molecular genetic architecture.

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Association of dopamine D4 receptor (DRD4) exon III repeat polymorphism with temperament in 3-year-old infants

Cited by 37 publications

References 28 publications

Twins’ temperament: early prenatal sonographic assessment and postnatal correlation

Twins’ temperament: early prenatal sonographic assessment and postnatal correlation

Prenatal predictors of infant temperament

The molecular genetic architecture of human personality: beyond self-report questionnaires

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