AVPR1A and SLC6A4 Polymorphisms in Choral Singers and Non-Musicians: A Gene Association Study

Abstract

Amateur choral singing is a common pastime and worthy of study, possibly conferring benefits to health and social behaviour. Participants might be expected to possess musical ability and share some behavioural characteristics. Polymorphisms in genes concerned with serotonergic neurotransmission are associated with both behaviour and musical aptitude. Those investigated previously include the variable number tandem repeats RS1, RS3 and AVR in the AVPR1A (arginine vasopressin receptor 1a) gene and STin2 in the SLC6A4 (solute carrier family 6 [neurotransmitter transporter, serotonin], member 4) gene, as well as the SLC6A4 promoter region polymorphism, 5-HTTLPR. We conducted a genetic association study on 523 participants to establish whether alleles at these polymorphisms occur more commonly in choral singers than in those not regularly participating in organised musical activity (non-musicians). We also analysed tagging single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) for AVPR1A and SLC6A4 to determine whether other variants in these genes were associated with singer/non-musician status. At the STin2 polymorphism, overall association with singer/non-musician status was evident at P = 0.006. The 9-repeat (P = 0.04) and 12-repeat (P = 0.04) alleles were more common in singers and the 10-repeat allele less so (P = 0.009). Odds ratios were 0.73 (95% CI 0.57–0.94) for the 10-repeat allele and 2.47 (95% CI 0.88–6.94) for the rarer 9-repeat allele. No overall association was detected at P<0.05 between any other polymorphism and singer/non-musician status. Our null findings with respect to RS3, RS1 and AVR, polymorphisms associated with musical ability by other authors, suggest that choir membership may depend partly on factors other than musical ability. In a related musical project involving one participating choir, a new 40-part unaccompanied choral work, “Allele”, was composed and broadcast on national radio. In the piece, each singer's part incorporated their personal RS3 genotype.

Genome-Wide Copy Number Variation Analysis in Extended Families and Unrelated Individuals Characterized for Musical Aptitude and Creativity in Music

“…GALM encodes galactose mutarotase which is functioning in serotonin metabolism [48], [49]. Curiously, we and others have studied the association of the serotonin transporter (5-HTT) in music related phenotypes [16], [17], [19], [20], [50]. A duplication at 10q11.22 was found in 24% and a deletion at 3p22.2 in 20% of the creative phenotype subjects in two families each (families 14 and 17; families 13 and 17, respectively).…”

“…Until now, little evidence for the molecular genetic background of musical aptitude has been obtained. In the absence of such evidence, we and others have performed both genome wide analyses and candidate gene studies in musical traits [13], [15], [16], [17], [18], [19], [20]. Intriguingly, genome-wide analyses performed separately in Finnish and Mongolian populations with different music phenotypes (musical aptitude and musical ability) revealed linkage in the partly overlapping genetic regions at chromosome 4q [15], [18].…”

Brain morphometry shows effects of long-term musical practice in middle-aged keyboard players

“…An earlier study of our own group has found a correlation between the onset of musical training, and the size of the motor cortex as indicated by the depth of the central sulcus (Amunts et al, 1997). This correlation provides an argument, that the human motor cortex can exhibit functionally induced long-lasting structural adaptations, probably at the background of a specific genetic predisposition (Theusch and Gitschier, 2011; Morley et al, 2012; Park et al, 2012; Ukkola-Vuoti et al, 2013). …”

Comparisons of Personality Dispositions and Genetic Inferences in Groups of Performing Artists

“…Singers have also been the topic of studies into the presence or absence of the AVPR1a and SLC6A4 polymorphisms. Gene association with choral singing has been documented (Morley et al, 2012). Researchers have also found evidence of association between tests of musical aptitude and the AVPR1a haplotypes (Ukkola, Onkamo, Raijas, Karma, & Järvelä, 2009).…”