Polymorphisms in the Dopamine, Serotonin, and Norepinephrine Transporter Genes and Their Relationship to Temperamental Dimensions Measured by the Temperament and Character Inventory in Healthy Volunteers

Abstract

There is evidence for an association between polymorphisms of monoamine transporter genes and temperamental personality traits. Recent findings have shown that interaction of allelic variants of the different genes may contribute to the personality factors. We studied the association between temperamental personality dimensions measured with the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI) and polymorphisms of the dopamine (DAT), norepinephrine (NET) and serotonin (5-HTT) transporter genes in 127 healthy Polish volunteers. There were no significant differences between means of TCI temperamental dimensions (novelty seeking, reward dependence, persistence and harm avoidance) and the transporter genes compared by ANOVA. There were some significant associations between genotypes and TCI subdimensions. Individuals carrying the A9/A9 DAT genotype have lower RD4 scores (dependence vs. independence) than A10/A10 individuals (3.0 ± 1.4 vs. 3.5 ± 1.3); p = 0.01. Examining 5-HTT gene promoter polymorphism, heterozygous individuals (l/s) and individuals with 44-bp deletion (s/s) scored significantly lower in the HA1 subdimension (anticipatory worry and pessimism vs. uninhibited optimism; 4.3 ± 2.3 vs. 5.5 ± 2.6) in comparison with individuals without deletion (l/l); p = 0.021. The NET transporter gene polymorphism showed no significant association with any of the temperamental TCI subdimensions.

Effects of Environmental Stress and Gender on Associations among Symptoms of Depression and the Serotonin Transporter Gene Linked Polymorphic Region (5-HTTLPR)

“…Gelertner et al (1998) reported that Caucasians with the 5-HTTLPR s allele had higher scores on neuroticism compared to those with the l/l genotype, whereas the opposite pattern of findings was reported for African Americans. Results from samples of Polish (Samochowiec et al 2001) and Japanese individuals (Katsuragi et al 1999) suggest that the 5-HTTLPR s allele is associated with higher scores on harm avoidance. Conversely, no association was found in Finnish (Mazzanti et al 1998), Israeli (Ebstein et al 1997), and Japanese (Nakamura et al 1997) samples.…”

Genetics of personality: are we making progress?

“…An exonic RFLP in the norepinephrine transporter (NET) was examined in a sample of healthy subjects, but no associations were obtained with any of the TCI temperament scales or subscales. 69 Polymorphisms in the a1a adrenoceptor (ADRA1A) and a2a adrenoceptor (ADRA2A) genes did not show association with the TPQ dimensions in Chinese subjects. 103 Another study focusing on ADRA2A did find some associations of a common SNP in ADRA2A with measures of irritability, hostility and impulsivity.…”

“…68 In a more recent study using the TCI, DAT1 only showed association with the RD4 subscale measuring dependence vs independence. 69 In a study using extremely high-and low-scoring individuals, association was reported between DAT1 and NS. 41 After stratification for gender, the effect was only found in female subjects.…”

“…83 In some studies replication failed using healthy populations 35,37,[84][85][86][87][88][89][90][91][92][93][94][95][96] or affected individuals. 47,88,97,98 Some studies obtained results in the opposite direction, detecting associations of the s/s and s/l genotypes with a lower mean score on the subscale HA1, 69 and with neuroticism. 99 In a study of our group using extremely scoring individuals, the short allele was more frequent in the low-HA than in the high-HA group.…”

Genetic-linked Inattentiveness Protects Individuals from Internet Overuse: A Genetic Study of Internet Overuse Evaluating Hypotheses Based on Addiction, Inattention, Novelty-seeking and Harm-avoidance

“…Individuals with greater novelty-seeking personality are often described as exploratory, curious, inquisitive, and enthusiastic (Kose, 2003). Strong evidence emerged from existing studies that the polymorphisms in DRD4, DRD2 and 5-HTTLPR were not connected to novelty-seeking personality (Burt, McGue, Iacono, Comings, & MacMurray, 2002;de Brettes et al, 1998;Ebstein, 2006;Ebstein et al, 1997;Hill, Zezza, Wipprecht, Locke, & Neiswanger, 1999;Kluger, Siegfried, & Ebstein, 2002;Kreek, Nielsen, Butelman, & LaForge, 2005; S. H. Lee, Ham, Cho, Lee, & Shim, 2007;Light et al, 2007;Munafò et al, 2003;Ricketts et al, 1998;Samochowiec et al, 2001;Schinka, Letsch, & Crawford, 2002;Suzuki et al, 2008;Tsuchimine et al, 2012;Van Gestel et al, 2002). In contrast, studies on COMT polymorphism revealed mixed and conflicting results (Calati et al, 2011;Demetrovics et al, 2010;Golimbet, Alfimova, Gritsenko, & Ebstein, 2007;Hashimoto et al, 2007;Hosák, Libiger, Cizek, Beránek, & Cermáková, 2006;Hoth et al, 2006;Kim, Kim, Kim, Lee, & Kim, 2006;Lichtenberg, Bachner-Melman, Ebstein, & Crawford, 2004;Light et al, 2007;Reuter & Hennig, 2005; S.-J.…”