title: Association of the serotonin transporter gene promoter region (5-HTTLPR) polymorphism with biased attention for emotional stimuli.
abstract: A deletion polymorphism in the serotonin transporter-linked polymorphic region (5-HTTLPR) has been associated with vulnerability to affective disorders, yet the mechanism by which this gene confers vulnerability remains unclear. Two studies examined associations between the 5-HTTLPR polymorphism and attentional bias for emotional stimuli among nondepressed adults. Biased attention, attention engagement, and difficulty with attention disengagement were assessed with a spatial cuing task using emotional stimuli. Results from Study 1 (N = 38) indicated that short 5-HTTLPR allele carriers experienced greater difficulty disengaging their attention from sad and happy stimuli compared with long allele homozygotes. Study 2 participants (N = 144) were genotyped for the 5-HTTLPR polymorphism, including single nucleotide polymorphism rs25531 in the long allele of the 5-HTTLPR. Consistent with Study 1, individuals homozygous for the low-expressing 5-HTTLPR alleles (i.e., S and LG) experienced greater difficulty disengaging attention from sad, happy, and fear stimuli than high-expressing 5-HTTLPR homozygotes. Because this association exists in healthy adults, it may represent a susceptibility factor for affective disorders that becomes problematic during stressful life experiences.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Texas at Austin, Texas 78712, USA. beevers@psy.utexas.edu
authors.forename: Christopher G
authors.initials: CG
authors.lastname: Beevers
authors.forename: Tony T
authors.initials: TT
authors.lastname: Wells
authors.forename: Alissa J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Ellis
authors.forename: John E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: McGeary
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000483:Alleles; D001288:Attention; D003463:Cues; D004644:Emotions; D005149:Facial Expression; D005260:Female; D006580:Genetic Carrier Screening; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease / Q000235:genetics; D005838:Genotype; D006720:Homozygote; D006801:Humans; D008016:Life Change Events; D008297:Male; D019964:Mood Disorders / Q000235:genetics / Q000523:psychology; D009949:Orientation; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic / Q000235:genetics*; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide / Q000235:genetics; D011930:Reaction Time; D012307:Risk Factors; D050486:Serotonin Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: C493230:SLC6A4 protein, human; D050486:Serotonin Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins
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