5-HTTLPR moderates effects of current life events on neuroticism: differential susceptibility to environmental influences.

ABSTRACT: Research chronicling links between a polymorphism in the serotonin-transporter gene (5-HTTLPR) and neuroticism has yielded inconsistent results. One possible explanation for this inconsistency is that any gene-phenotype association is obscured by a gene-X-environment (GXE) interaction. We studied a healthy non-clinical sample (N=118) to determine whether the 5-HTTLPR interacts with current life events in predicting neuroticism. The differential-susceptibility hypothesis led to the prediction of such an interaction, reflecting the fact that individuals with short alleles would be affected more by both negative and positive life events than those homozygous for long alleles. Participants completed questionnaires concerning recent life events and neuroticism. The 5-HTTLPR was genotyped using

SUBMITTER: Pluess M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2915757 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature