Facial Sadness Recognition is Modulated by Estrogen Receptor Gene Polymorphisms in Healthy Females

Abstract

Polymorphisms of the estrogen receptor ESR1 and ESR2 genes have been linked with cognitive deficits and affective disorders. The effects of these genetic variants on emotional processing in females with low estrogen levels are not well known. The aim was to explore the impact of the ESR1 and ESR2 genes on the responses to the facial emotion recognition task in females. Postmenopausal healthy female volunteers were genotyped for the polymorphisms Xbal and PvuII of ESR1 and the polymorphism rs1256030 of ESR2. The effect of these polymorphisms on the response to the facial emotion recognition of the emotions happiness, sadness, disgust, anger, surprise, and fear was analyzed. Females carrying the P allele of the PvuII polymorphism or the X allele of the Xbal polymorphism of ESR1 easily recognized facial expressions of sadness that were more difficult for the women carrying the p allele or the x allele. They displayed higher accuracy, fast response time, more correct responses, and fewer omissions to complete the task, with a large effect size. Women carrying the ESR2 C allele of ESR2 showed a faster response time for recognizing facial expressions of anger. These findings link ESR1 and ESR2 polymorphisms in facial emotion recognition of negative emotions.

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“…The cellular effects of estrogen are mediated by two estrogen receptors (ERα, ERβ), which regulate the physiological processes such as cell growth and development, and closely related to the pathological processes such as inflammation, osteoporosis, cancer, and neurodegeneration ( Jia et al, 2015 ). ERα has significant effects on mood and cognition, and variants in estrogen receptors may alter estrogen signaling and increase susceptibility to depression, anxiety in women ( Gutiérrez-Muñoz et al, 2018 ). Previous evidences showed that specific ESR1 polymorphisms might contribute to the increased susceptibility to the development of anxiety disorders ( Borrow et al, 2017 ).…”