Regulatory variant of the TPH2 gene and early life stress are associated with heightened attention to social signals of fear in infants
Regulatory variant of the TPH2 gene and early life stress are associated with heightened attention to social signals of fear in infants
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DOI：
10.1111/jcpp.12181
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发表时间：
2014-07-01
影响因子：
7.6
通讯作者：
Leppanen, Jukka M.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Forssman, Linda;Peltola, Mikko J.;Leppanen, Jukka M.
跨物种证据表明，遗传和经验因素在发育早期就起作用，建立了个体的情感特征，但对这一时期出现的调节长期结果的机制知之甚少。在这里，我们测试了已知的遗传和环境风险条件可能会提高婴儿对威胁警报刺激的自然倾向，从而导致认知偏见，这可能会导致情感脆弱性。方法利用2例5-7月龄婴儿（N=139）的数据，研究血清素系统基因(TPH2 SNP rs4570625 （-703G/T）和HTR1A SNP rs6295 （-1019G/C）的候选变异，以及早期抚养条件（母亲压力和抑郁症状）是否与婴儿对面部表情的注意改变有关。婴儿接受了一个范式测试，该范式评估了将注意力从集中呈现的刺激（非面部控制刺激或中性、快乐或恐惧的面部表情）转移到视觉外围新刺激（几何形状）的能力。结果TPH2 -703 t -携带者基因型（即TT纯合子和杂合子）、母体存在应激和抑郁症状，以及t -携带者基因型和母体抑郁症状的组合与相对较大的注意力从恐惧面部表情中解脱困难相关。与婴儿的气质特征没有关联。结论婴儿对恐惧面部表情的自然注意偏向的改变可能早于情绪和社会行为的表现，是早期情绪发展的敏感标志。
Background Cross-species evidence suggests that genetic and experiential factors act early in development to establish individual emotional traits, but little is known about the mechanisms that emerge during this period to mediate long-term outcomes. Here, we tested the hypothesis that known genetic and environmental risk conditions may heighten infants' natural tendency to attend to threat-alerting stimuli, resulting in a cognitive bias that may contribute to emotional vulnerability. Methods Data from two samples of 5-7-month-old infants (N=139) were used to examine whether established candidate variations in the serotonin-system genes, i.e., TPH2 SNP rs4570625 (-703G/T) and HTR1A SNP rs6295 (-1019G/C), and early rearing condition (maternal stress and depressive symptoms) are associated with alterations in infants' attention to facial expressions. Infants were tested with a paradigm that assesses the ability to disengage attention from a centrally presented stimulus (a nonface control stimulus or a neutral, happy, or fearful facial expression) toward the location of a new stimulus in the visual periphery (a geometric shape). Results TPH2 -703 T-carrier genotype (i.e., TT homozygotes and heterozygotes), presence of maternal stress and depressive symptoms, and a combination of the T-carrier genotype and maternal depressive symptoms were associated with a relatively greater difficulty disengaging attention from fearful facial expressions. No associations were found with infants' temperamental traits. Conclusions Alterations in infants' natural attentional bias toward fearful facial expressions may emerge prior to the manifestation of emotional and social behaviors and provide a sensitive marker of early emotional development.