Variation in the human cannabinoid receptor CNR1 gene modulates gaze duration for happy faces.

ABSTRACT:

Background

From an early age, humans look longer at preferred stimuli and also typically look longer at facial expressions of emotion, particularly happy faces. Atypical gaze patterns towards social stimuli are common in autism spectrum conditions (ASC). However, it is unknown whether gaze fixation patterns have any genetic basis. In this study, we tested whether variations in the cannabinoid receptor 1 (CNR1) gene are associated with gaze duration towards happy faces. This gene was selected because CNR1 is a key component of the endocannabinoid system, which is involved in processing reward, and in our previous functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study, we found that variations in CNR1 modulate the striatal response to happy (but not disgust) faces. The striatum is involv

SUBMITTER: Chakrabarti B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3155489 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature