title: Dopamine beta-hydroxylase gene modulates individuals' empathic ability.
abstract: Dopamine beta-hydroxylase (DBH), an enzyme that converts dopamine to norepinephrine, has broad influences on social functions. In this study, we examined to what extent two polymorphisms (-1021C/T and a 19 bp insertion/deletion) in DBH gene modulate individuals' empathic perception and response, which were measured, respectively, by reading the mind in the eyes test and the empathic concern subscale of interpersonal reactivity index. Results showed that polymorphism at -1021C/T, but not the 19 bp insertion/deletion, accounts for 2.3% variance of empathic perception and 1.4% variance of empathic response. Individuals with the CC genotype, which is associated with higher DBH activity, manifested greater empathic ability than those with CT/TT genotypes. These findings demonstrate the importance of DBH -1021C/T as a genetic basis of empathy and in predicting individual differences in social and affective processing.
authors.affiliation: Center for Brain and Cognitive Sciences and Department of Psychology, Peking University, Beijing 100871, Laboratory of Medical Molecular Biology, Henan University of Science and Technology, Luoyang 471003, China, Key Laboratory of Machine Perception (Ministry of Education) and PKU-IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China Center for Brain and Cognitive Sciences and Department of Psychology, Peking University, Beijing 100871, Laboratory of Medical Molecular Biology, Henan University of Science and Technology, Luoyang 471003, China, Key Laboratory of Machine Perception (Ministry of Education) and PKU-IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China.
authors.forename: Pingyuan
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Gong
authors.affiliation: Center for Brain and Cognitive Sciences and Department of Psychology, Peking University, Beijing 100871, Laboratory of Medical Molecular Biology, Henan University of Science and Technology, Luoyang 471003, China, Key Laboratory of Machine Perception (Ministry of Education) and PKU-IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China.
authors.forename: Jinting
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Center for Brain and Cognitive Sciences and Department of Psychology, Peking University, Beijing 100871, Laboratory of Medical Molecular Biology, Henan University of Science and Technology, Luoyang 471003, China, Key Laboratory of Machine Perception (Ministry of Education) and PKU-IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China.
authors.forename: She
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Center for Brain and Cognitive Sciences and Department of Psychology, Peking University, Beijing 100871, Laboratory of Medical Molecular Biology, Henan University of Science and Technology, Luoyang 471003, China, Key Laboratory of Machine Perception (Ministry of Education) and PKU-IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China Center for Brain and Cognitive Sciences and Department of Psychology, Peking University, Beijing 100871, Laboratory of Medical Molecular Biology, Henan University of Science and Technology, Luoyang 471003, China, Key Laboratory of Machine Perception (Ministry of Education) and PKU-IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China Center for Brain and Cognitive Sciences and Department of Psychology, Peking University, Beijing 100871, Laboratory of Medical Molecular Biology, Henan University of Science and Technology, Luoyang 471003, China, Key Laboratory of Machine Perception (Ministry of Education) and PKU-IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China xz104@pku.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Xiaolin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhou
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D044466:Asian People / Q000208:ethnology / Q000235:genetics; D004299:Dopamine beta-Hydroxylase / Q000235:genetics*; D004645:Empathy / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D007206:Individuality; D008297:Male; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic / Q000235:genetics*; D011581:Psychological Tests; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D004299:Dopamine beta-Hydroxylase
keywords: DBH; dopamine beta-hydroxylase; empathy; polymorphism; −1021C/T