Interactions between oxytocin receptor gene and intergroup relationship on empathic neural responses to others’ pain

Luo, Siyang; Zhang, Ting; Li, Wenxin; Yu, Maria; Hein, Grit; Han, Shihui

doi:10.1093/scan/nsz029

Cited by 19 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 67 publications

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“…Another study (Luo et al, 2019) tested the hypothesis that empathic neural responses to others’ pain are more flexible in G/G than A/A carriers (rs53576) of the oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR). They found that G/G carriers showed greater neural responses, over the frontal cortical region, to painful vs. neutral face expressions.…”

Section: Neurobiological and Physiological Correlatesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Intersections and Divergences Between Empathizing and Mentalizing: Development, Recent Advancements by Neuroimaging and the Future of Animal Modeling

Cerniglia

Bartolomeo

Capobianco

et al. 2019

Front. Behav. Neurosci.

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Both mentalization and empathy allow humans to understand others, through the representation of their mental states or their mood, respectively. The present review aims to explain those characteristics which are shared between empathy and the Theory of Mind. Research in neuroscience, based on naturalistic paradigms, has shown that abilities to mentalize and to empathize are associated with the activation of different neuro-cognitive circuits. As far as mirror-neuron processes are concerned, some structures (like Anterior Insula, AI; Anterior Cingulate Cortex, ACC) play a role both in the representation of one’s own affective states and in comprehension of the same affective state when experienced by others. As for mentalization, the temporal parietal junction (TPj) and temporal poles (TP), the upper posterior temporal sulcus (pSTS) and the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) are greatly involved: the latter appears involved in the attribution of one’s own and others’ temperaments. Interestingly, the ventral/orbital portion of the PFC (orbito-frontal cortex, OFC) is involved in subserving shared affective experience during cognitive mentalizing. This brain region represents a point of overlap, from a psycho-biological point of view, where emotional mirroring and affective cognition meet up. As for animal models, laboratory rodents can well be tested for prosocial behavior. Some examples include deliberate actions, allowing another conspecific the possibility to feed (“giving food”): this willingness can vary across donors, depending on how the recipient is perceived. Other examples include the possibility to let a trapped conspecific come out (“giving help”). The state-of-the-art knowledge about this theme can inform the programming of specific clinical interventions, based on the reinforcement of empathic and/or mentalization abilities.

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Section: Neurobiological and Physiological Correlatesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Intersections and Divergences Between Empathizing and Mentalizing: Development, Recent Advancements by Neuroimaging and the Future of Animal Modeling

Cerniglia

Bartolomeo

Capobianco

et al. 2019

Front. Behav. Neurosci.

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“…Specifically, based on the framework of inherited differential susceptibilities to environmental factors, individuals carrying specific genotypes may be especially vulnerable to adverse environments (Belsky & Pluess, 2009;Luo et al, 2015Luo et al, , 2016. Indeed, studies have examined the effects of gene-environment interactions on individual-level psychological features, such as resilience, empathy, externalizing behavior, and temperament (Caspi et al, 2002(Caspi et al, , 2010Cicchetti & Rogosch, 2012;Das et al, 2011;Luo et al, 2019;Luo, Yu, & Han, 2017;Luo, Zhu, et al, 2017;Thompson et al, 2012). For instance, Cicchetti and Rogosch (2012) combined four genotypes (for the genes encoding serotonin, corticotropin-releasing hormone, dopamine, and oxytocin genes) into a composite score that predicted the resilience levels of low-income maltreated and non-maltreated children.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Childhood Maltreatment, Automatic Negative Thoughts, and Resilience: The Protective Roles of Culture and Genes

Huang

Mao

et al. 2020

J Interpers Violence

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Resilience, a psychological trait conceptualized as the ability to recover from setbacks, can be weakened by childhood maltreatment, which comprises childhood abuse and childhood neglect. The current study aimed to investigate whether childhood maltreatment could increase automatic negative thoughts (ANT), thus weakening resilience. Furthermore, as psychological characteristics are commonly subject to the moderating effects of cultural context and biology, the study also explored whether and how cultural and genetic factors separately interact with childhood maltreatment to predict resilience. In study 1, the participants comprised 237 American and 347 Chinese individuals; study 2 included 428 genotyped Chinese individuals. We combined regression, mediation, moderation, and machine learning methods to test the mediating effect of ANT on the link between childhood maltreatment and resilience as well as the moderating roles of culture and genetics. Study 1 found that both childhood abuse and childhood neglect increased ANT and thus weakened resilience. In addition, the ANT-mediating effects of childhood neglect were stronger in American than Chinese participants. In Study 2, using the leave-one-out approach, we constructed two separate prediction models based on 22 and 16 important single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), and we found that the interaction between childhood abuse/neglect and polygenic scores based on important SNPs could predict ANT. The mediating effects of ANT on the relationship between childhood abuse/neglect and resilience were significant for participants with low polygenic scores but not for those with high polygenic scores. In conclusion, both the cultural environment and individual genetic makeup moderated the mediating effects of ANT on the association between childhood maltreatment and resilience. These findings indicated the roles of culture and genetics in protecting against the adverse effects of childhood maltreatment on resilience.

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“…rs53576 genotypes have previously been found to be associated with implicit responses to infant and adult faces, where G/G carriers exhibited a more positive implicit association to ingroup infant faces ( Senese et al, 2017 ). The rs53576 genotype has also been associated with neural responses toward ingroup and outgroup faces where A/A carriers showed significant empathic neural responses for faces with both shared racial and group identity compared to G/G carriers who showed such empathic responses for faces with either shared racial or group identity ( Luo et al, 2019 ), suggesting that OXTR rs53576 may interact with intergroup relationships on prosocial behavior. However, evidence about associations between SNPs and face processing is inconsistent.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gene–Environment Interactions in Face Categorization: Oxytocin Receptor Genotype x Childcare Experience Shortens Reaction Time

et al. 2022

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Human faces capture attention, provide information about group belonging, and elicit automatic prepared responses. Early experiences with other-race faces play a critical role in acquiring face expertise, but the exact mechanism through which early experience exerts its influence is still to be elucidated. Genetic factors and a multi-ethnic context are likely involved, but their specific influences have not been explored. This study investigated how oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR) genotypes and childcare experience interacted to regulate face categorization in adults. Information about single nucleotide polymorphisms of OXTR (rs53576) and experiences with own- and other-race child caregivers was collected from 89 Singaporean adults, who completed a visual categorization task with own- versus other-race faces. Participants were grouped into A/A homozygotes and G carriers and assigned a score to account for their type of child caregiver experience. A multivariate linear regression model was used to estimate the effect of genetic group, child caregiver experience, and their interaction on categorization reaction time. A significant interaction of genetic group and child caregiver experience (t = 2.48, p = 0.015), as well as main effects of both genetic group (t = −2.17, p = 0.033) and child caregiver experience (t = −4.29, p < 0.001) emerged. Post-hoc analysis revealed that the correlation between categorization reaction time and child caregiver experience was significantly different between the two genetic groups. A significant gene x environment interaction on face categorization appears to represent an indirect pathway through which genes and experiences interact to shape mature social sensitivity to faces in human adults.

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Interactions between oxytocin receptor gene and intergroup relationship on empathic neural responses to others’ pain

Cited by 19 publications

References 67 publications

Intersections and Divergences Between Empathizing and Mentalizing: Development, Recent Advancements by Neuroimaging and the Future of Animal Modeling

Intersections and Divergences Between Empathizing and Mentalizing: Development, Recent Advancements by Neuroimaging and the Future of Animal Modeling

Childhood Maltreatment, Automatic Negative Thoughts, and Resilience: The Protective Roles of Culture and Genes

Gene–Environment Interactions in Face Categorization: Oxytocin Receptor Genotype x Childcare Experience Shortens Reaction Time

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