title: Genetic imaging of the association of oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR) polymorphisms with positive maternal parenting.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Well-validated models of maternal behavior in small-brain mammals posit a central role of oxytocin in parenting, by reducing stress and enhancing the reward value of social interactions with offspring. In contrast, human studies are only beginning to gain insights into how oxytocin modulates maternal behavior and affiliation.
  
  
  METHODS
  To explore associations between oxytocin receptor genes and maternal parenting behavior in humans, we conducted a genetic imaging study of women selected to exhibit a wide range of observed parenting when their children were 4-6 years old.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In response to child stimuli during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), hemodynamic responses in brain regions that mediate affect, reward, and social behavior were significantly correlated with observed positive parenting. Furthermore, single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) (rs53576 and rs1042778) in the gene encoding the oxytocin receptor were significantly associated with both positive parenting and hemodynamic responses to child stimuli in orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), and hippocampus.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These findings contribute to the emerging literature on the role of oxytocin in human social behavior and support the feasibility of tracing biological pathways from genes to neural regions to positive maternal parenting behaviors in humans using genetic imaging methods.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, The University of Chicago Chicago, IL, USA ; Section on Development and Affective Neuroscience, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health Bethesda, MD, USA ; Department of Human Development, University of Maryland College Park, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Kalina J
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Michalska
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, The University of Chicago Chicago, IL, USA ; Department of Psychiatry, The University of Chicago Chicago, IL, USA.
authors.forename: Jean
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Decety
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, The University of Chicago Chicago, IL, USA ; Department of Behavioral Neuroscience, The University of Chicago Chicago, IL, USA.
authors.forename: Chunyu
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, The University of Chicago Chicago, IL, USA ; Department of Behavioral Neuroscience, The University of Chicago Chicago, IL, USA.
authors.forename: Qi
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Michigan Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
authors.forename: Meghan E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Martz
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Minnesota Minneapolis, MN, USA.
authors.forename: Suma
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Jacob
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
authors.forename: Alison E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Hipwell
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of California Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Steve S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Maryland College Park, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Chronis-Tuscano
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Emory University Atlanta, GA, USA.
authors.forename: Irwin D
authors.initials: ID
authors.lastname: Waldman
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Studies, The University of Chicago Chicago, IL, USA.
authors.forename: Benjamin B
authors.initials: BB
authors.lastname: Lahey
keywords: functional magnetic resonance imaging; maternal parenting oxytocin receptor gene