Influence of the Serotonin Transporter Promoter Gene and Shyness on Children’s Cerebral Responses to Facial Expressions

Abstract

Children who manifest higher levels of shyness or have 1 or 2 copies of the short allele of the serotonin transporter promoter gene appear to have a different pattern of processing affective stimuli of interpersonal hostility.

Shyness and emotion‐processing skills in preschoolers: a 6‐month longitudinal study

“…This is consistent with the vigilance-avoidance hypothesis which states that negative emotional expressions are especially threatening to shy individuals, and that emotion-processing deficits reflect avoidance of emotion-specific stimuli following a brief period of increased attention to them (Mogg, Bradley, de Bono, & Painter, 1997). The emotion thought to most profoundly activate this information processing sequence is anger, although other negative emotions may also trigger the response (Battaglia et al, 2005;Stirling et al, 2006).…”

“…Drawing on a non-clinical sample, Battaglia and colleagues (Battaglia et al, 2004) reported that higher scores on a teacher-completed measure of social anxiety predicted poorer performance on a facial emotion identification task for second-and third-grade children. In a later study, that group found that, in response to stimuli depicting negative facial emotions, individuals with a genetic marker for shyness had a different pattern of event-related potentials than did those without the marker (Battaglia et al, 2005). This finding and others are consistent with theorizing within neuroscience that shyness and the processing of direct expressions of emotion}particularly negative emotions such as anger}-should be related because both are mediated, in large part, by the same brain structures and functions (Schwartz, Wright, Shin, Kagan, & Rauch, 2003;Wahlen, 1998).…”

“…Lastly, with respect to faces, there is mounting evidence that not all expressions are equal. That is, poorer performance on the part of shy individuals appears to involve exposure to negative facial emotions, such as anger, and neutral facial expressions to the extent they are perceived as negative (Battaglia et al, 2005;Melfsen & Florin, 2002;Stirling, Eley, & Clark, 2006). Investigation of these issues would shed light on whether one or more aspects of emotion processing are problematic for shy individuals, and also if emotion-processing deficits are emotion-specific.…”

Event Related Potentials in the Understanding of Autism Spectrum Disorders: An Analytical Review

“…An excellent example in the psychiatry literature of the definition of an endophenotype using genetics, ERP, neuroimaging, and behavioral testing, is the work focusing on the serotonin transporter gene and its association to mood disorders and personality traits, most robustly studied in social anxiety and shyness in children (Battaglia et al 2005;Canli and Lesch 2007;Gunthert et al 2007;Hayden et al 2007;Serretti et al 2006). Two common alleles of the serotonin transporter promoter (5-HTTPR), short and long, have been differentially associated with: level of serotonin uptake and transport, amygdala activity in response to angry or fearful faces, and behavioral phenotypes such as anxiety, avoidant personalities and shyness.…”

“…A significant expression-genotype interaction was found. Children who were shy were most likely to have more 1 or 2 copies of the short allele of the 5-HTTPR, and to have smaller N400 amplitudes to angry and neutral faces (Battaglia et al 2005). One could imagine taking this work a step further by using emotion ERP paradigms coupled with genetic testing early in infancy to define children at risk for anxiety disorder, and then targeting early behavioral interventions to prevent social phobias.…”