Perception of Facial Aging and Its Relationship to Two Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (OXTR rs53576, CD38 rs3796863)

Abstract

Oxytocin is associated with social behavior. In humans, several studies have assessed the relationship between social behavior and a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP)-rs53576-within the gene encoding the oxytocin receptor (OXTR). Fewer studies have assessed the relationship between human sociability and the SNP rs3796863 found within the cluster of differentiation 38 (CD38) gene, whose product has been found to facilitate the secretion of oxytocin. This research examines whether these polymorphisms are associated with facial age discrimination. Young adults (N = 43) were genotyped at both the OXTR and CD38 loci. They discriminated aging in 1-to 4-, 5-to 8-, 9-to 12-, 13-to 17-, and 18-to 22-year-old male and female faces. Participants with the OXTR GG and the CD38 CC genotypes discriminated facial aging better than those possessing at least one A allele at either locus. These polymorphisms appear to be associated with social information processing involved in facial age discrimination.