Associations between neurochemical receptor genes, 2D:4D, impulsivity and relationship quality

Pearce, Eiluned; Wlodarski, Rafael; Machin, Anna; Dunbar, R. I. M.

doi:10.1098/rsbl.2018.0642

Cited by 15 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…Data were collected from healthy adults from the UK population attending three science festivals and a museum. Following [23,25], we focus on White participants without a history of mental illness. Participants were required to identify their ethnicity from a standard list of categories: ‘White British’, ‘White (other)’, ‘Indian’, ‘Pakistani’, ‘White Irish’, ‘Mixed’, ‘Black Caribbean’, ‘Black African’, ‘Bangladeshi’, ‘Chinese’, ‘Other Asian’, ‘Black (other)’, and ‘Other’.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In this paper, we use data collected as part of a large-scale study on the genetics of human sociality [23–25] to explore how attitudes and behavior in relation to different domains of sociality relate to each other in healthy adult males and females. We look at three types of relationship: (i) romantic relationships, (ii) the size of the support network of people whom we would rely on in a crisis (our personal “support clique”), and (iii) feelings of inclusion in the local community.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Exploring the links between dispositions, romantic relationships, support networks and community inclusion in men and women

et al. 2019

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Most studies of social cognition have focused on dyadic relationships, and rather few have looked at how we engage with individuals in the wider social world into which we are embedded. Here we use principle component analysis (PCA) and path analysis to explore how different aspects of human sociality interact. We demonstrate two distinct clusters in both sexes relating to (i) romantic relationships and (ii) wider social engagement, such as that with the local community. These two domains of relationship were associated with different dispositional traits: individual variation in impulsivity in the former, and in empathy and avoidant attachment in the latter. Although these clusters were broadly similar across both sexes, clearer differentiation is evident in males. In females only, support network size was positively related to the anxious dimension of attachment and, unlike in males, was not related to feelings of inclusion in the local community. This suggests that support networks may play different roles in the two sexes, indicating a productive line of future research. These findings have important practical applications: loneliness interventions that target the specific type of relationship that is felt to be lacking and the associated dispositional traits are likely to be more effective than more generic approaches.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring the links between dispositions, romantic relationships, support networks and community inclusion in men and women

et al. 2019

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“…On the other hand, a recent study has shown that AR rs615 and OPRM1 rs2075572, SNPs of the androgen receptor and the b-endorphin receptor genes respectively, might affect impulsivity mediated by 2D:4D digit ratio (Pearce, Wlodarski, Machin, & Dunbar, 2018). Moreover, they found a relationship between AR rs615 and left hand 2D:4D only in women.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 93%

Lower 2D:4D digit ratio is associated with reduced impulse control in women

Rodríguez-Ramos¹,

García-Torres

et al. 2019

Preprint

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Sex hormones induce sexual differentiation of the brain which might result in sex-specific behaviors. 2D:4D digit ratio is commonly used as a marker of the balance between prenatal testosterone and estrogen. In this study we analyzed if there was an association between 2D:4D and personality in women. We found that 2D:4D might be related with emotional stability, and specifically with its subdimension impulse control; while no associations were found with the dimensions energy, friendliness, conscientiousness and openness.

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“…Healthy adults were recruited at three science festivals and a museum in the UK. Here we focus on the 757 participants (423 female) who identified as Caucasian and did not have a history of mental illness, as previously reported (Pearce et al 2017;Pearce et al 2018a). All participants had ≥90% genetic coverage (i.e.…”

Section: Participantsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We have previously shown that the different domains of our social world are influenced by different neurochemicals (in particular, endorphins, oxytocin and dopamine) (Pearce et al 2017(Pearce et al , 2018a. Nonetheless, it is unlikely that this involves simple genes/behaviour relationships.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Genetic Influences on Social Relationships: Sex Differences in the Mediating Role of Personality and Social Cognition

Dunbar

Pearce

Wlodarski

et al. 2019

Adaptive Human Behavior and Physiology

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Objectives In humans (and primates more generally), evolutionary fitness arises by two separate routes: conventional reproduction build around dyadic relationships and, reflecting the processes of group augmentation selection, how well individuals are embedded in their community. These processes are facilitated by a suite of genetically inherited neuroendocrines and neurotransmitters. It is not, however, known whether these effects are directly due to genetic factors or are mediated by aspects of personality, or whether there are sex differences in the way this is organised. Methods We examine whether dispositional factors related to the processing of social information, such as personality (Big 5 and Impulsivity), attachment style (Anxious and Avoidant dimensions) and sociocognitive capacity (emotion recognition) mediate associations between variation in receptor genes for oxytocin, vasopressin, beta-endorphin, dopamine, serotonin, testosterone and two core social relationship indices (the Sociosexual Orientation Index [SOI] and Support Network size). Results In men, variation in dopamine genes indirectly influences SOI through its effect on Impulsivity. In contrast, in women, variation in endorphin and vasopressin genes independently affect Openness to Experience, which mediates indirect effects of these genes on SOI. Moreover, endorphin gene variation also impacts on Network Size in women (but not men), via Extraversion. Conclusions These findings reveal that dispositional aspects of personality mediate some genetic effects on behaviour, thereby extending our understanding of how genetic and dispositional variation interact to determine individual differences in human sexual and social cognition and behaviour. The differences between the sexes seem to reflect differences in the two sexes' social strategies.

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Associations between neurochemical receptor genes, 2D:4D, impulsivity and relationship quality

Cited by 15 publications

References 24 publications

Exploring the links between dispositions, romantic relationships, support networks and community inclusion in men and women

Exploring the links between dispositions, romantic relationships, support networks and community inclusion in men and women

Lower 2D:4D digit ratio is associated with reduced impulse control in women

Genetic Influences on Social Relationships: Sex Differences in the Mediating Role of Personality and Social Cognition

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