The serotonin transporter 5-HTTLPR polymorphism in the association between sleep quality and affect.
A link between sleep and affect is well-known. Serotonin (5-HT) is associated with the regulation of affective as well as sleep-related processes. A functional polymorphism in the serotonin transporter gene (5-HTTLPR) has been associated with serotonergic functioning. The present study investigated whether allelic variation of this gene moderates the association between nighttime subjective sleep quality and affect the following day. A population-based sample of 361 ethnically homogenous adult female twins underwent a five day protocol based on the experience sampling method (ESM), assessing momentary negative affect, positive affect, and subjective sleep quality repeatedly and prospectively. There was a significant interaction between sleep quality and genotype in predicting positive affect the next day: carriers of one (n=167) or two S-alleles (n=78) had a significantly steeper slope compared to LL carriers (n=116) (χ(2)=4.16, p=.042 and χ(2)=3.90, p=.048 respectively). The association between subjective sleep quality and positive affect the next day varied as a function of 5-HTTLPR: it was stronger in carriers of at least one copy of the S-allele compared to homozygous L-carriers, supporting a link between sleep and affect regulation, in which serotonin may play a role. However, these results are preliminary and require replication.
Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, School of Mental Health and Neuroscience, Maastricht University Medical Centre, Maastricht, The Netherlands; GGzE, Institute of Mental Health Care Eindhoven en de Kempen, P.O. Box 909, 5600 AX Eindhoven, The Netherlands. Electronic address: j.hartmann@maastrichtuniversity.nl.
Jessica A
JA
Hartmann
Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, School of Mental Health and Neuroscience, Maastricht University Medical Centre, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
Marieke
M
Wichers
Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, School of Mental Health and Neuroscience, Maastricht University Medical Centre, Maastricht, The Netherlands; GGzE, Institute of Mental Health Care Eindhoven en de Kempen, P.O. Box 909, 5600 AX Eindhoven, The Netherlands.
Alex L
AL
van Bemmel
Centre of Human Genetics, University Hospitals Leuven, Belgium; Department of Human Genetics, KU Leuven, Belgium.
Catherine
C
Derom
Department of Neurology, Ghent University Hospital, De Pintelaan 185, 9000 Ghent, Belgium.
Evert
E
Thiery
Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, School of Mental Health and Neuroscience, Maastricht University Medical Centre, Maastricht, The Netherlands; Department of Psychology, Open University of the Netherlands, P.O. Box 2960, 6401 DL Heerlen, The Netherlands.
Nele
N
Jacobs
Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, School of Mental Health and Neuroscience, Maastricht University Medical Centre, Maastricht, The Netherlands; King's College London, Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, London, UK.
Jim
J
van Os
Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, School of Mental Health and Neuroscience, Maastricht University Medical Centre, Maastricht, The Netherlands; GGzE, Institute of Mental Health Care Eindhoven en de Kempen, P.O. Box 909, 5600 AX Eindhoven, The Netherlands.
Claudia J P
CJ
Simons
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000339:Affect / Q000502:physiology*; D000483:Alleles; D005260:Female; D056726:Genetic Association Studies; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010551:Personality; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic; D050486:Serotonin Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D012890:Sleep / Q000235:genetics*; D014427:Twins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000523:psychology; D055815:Young Adult
D050486:Serotonin Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins
5-HTTLPR; Daily life; Experience sampling method; Negative affect; Positive affect; Subjective sleep quality