Genetic Influences on Social Cognition

Abstract

Human social behavior develops under the influence of genetic, environmental, and cultural factors. Social cognition comprises our ability to understand and respond appropriately to other people's social approaches or responses. The concept embraces self-knowledge and theory of mind, or the ability to think about emotions and behavior from the perspective of another person. The neuropeptides oxytocin (OT) and vasopressin (AVP) are now known to play an important role, affecting individual differences in parenting behavior, social recognition, and affiliative behaviors. The processes of social cognition are also supported by reward circuitry, underpinned by the dopaminergic neurotransmitter system. Reward processes build social relationships, in parenting and pair-bonding, and influence social interactions that require trust, or display altruism. The impact of emotional regulation upon social behavior, including mood and anxiety, is also mediated through the serotonergic system. Variation in activity of serotonergic networks in the brain influences emotional responsivity, including subjective feelings, physiological responses, emotional expressions, and the tendency to become engaged in action as a consequence of a feeling state. Genetic variation in the receptors associated with OT, AVP, dopamine, and serotonin has been intensively studied in humans and animal models. Recent findings are building an increasingly coherent picture of regulatory mechanisms. (Pediatr Res 69: 85R-91R, 2011) W e, as humans, usually possess the ability to rapidly process social information about the thoughts and actions of other people and to interact in complex ways with them. Social cognition comprises a set of skills that enable us to understand thoughts and intentions that may differ from our own experiences or predispositions. As we develop through early childhood, we are increasingly capable of taking another person's perspective, and we develop self-knowledge. We can accurately predict how another person might behave in the future, from our social perceptions and experiences. We become capable of learning what motivates other people in their social interactions, even if these do not directly involve us. All these skills map onto schemas that are encoded in an associative network in memory and is orchestrated to ensure normal, skilled social adaptation (1).The process by which we acquire social cognitive competence evolves with development and is modified in response to the environment. To begin with, infants cannot easily differentiate between themselves and other people, but they rapidly become aware that their actions have an impact on the physical and social world around them. In due course, they develop social understanding, language, and imitation. Eventually, most of us acquire the ability to "read the mind" of others. By this, we mean that it becomes possible for us to understand why other people behave the way they do and to respond appropriately to them in social situations. If we have not acquired this ability...

Genetic mechanisms of parenting

“…There is considerable overlap in both region of expression and functional significance of the three neurotransmitter systems described above-oxytocin, dopamine, and serotonin-and interactions between these systems could influence social behavior (Baskerville and Douglas, 2010;Emiliano et al, 2007;Skuse and Gallagher, 2011). In rats, an interaction between oxytocin and dopamine helps regulate maternal behavior (Shahrokh et al, 2010).…”

The biology of trust: Integrating evidence from genetics, endocrinology, and functional brain imaging.

“…Moreover, a negative correlation between SER and stress is likely to exist because research has found that touch is associated with increased levels of SER (Field et al, 1996), which have been demonstrated to reduce stress reactivity in humans (Hanley & Van de Kar, 2003). Finally, it is reported that SER desensitizes the AVP receptor (Skuse & Gallagher, 2011), which could reduce approach and trust behavior.…”

Oxytocin and oxytocin receptor gene polymorphisms and risk for schizophrenia: A case–control study

“…Also OXT shows anxiolytic effects by dampening the amygdala response to social and emotional stimuli (Domes et al 2007a) and therefore acts as a facilitator of prosocial behaviour and interpersonal trust (Baumgartner et al 2008;Heinrichs and Domes 2008;Theodoridou et al 2009; K é ri and Kiss 2011). Moreover, OXT has been shown to interact with the dopaminergic system and thus to stimulate the attribution of salience to social and emotional stimuli and to enable higher social-cognitive functions (Skuse and Gallagher 2009;Rosenfeld et al 2010;Skuse and Gallagher 2011). Dysfunction in this amygdala-dopamino-oxytocinergic circuitry might explain some aspects of the social cognitive defi cits in schizophrenia (Rosenfeld et al 2010).…”