Hostname: page-component-7c8c6479df-p566r Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-03-28T13:20:13.245Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Association Between Dopamine D4 Receptor Exon III Polymorphism and Emotional Reactivity as a Temperamental Trait

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 February 2012

Wlodzimierz Oniszczenko*
Affiliation:
Faculty of Psychology, University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland. wlodek@engram.psych.uw.edu.pl
Wojciech L. Dragan
Affiliation:
Faculty of Psychology, University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland.
*
*Address for correspondence: Wlodzimierz Oniszczenko, Faculty of Psychology, University of Warsaw, Stawki 5–7, 00–183 Warszawa, Poland.

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

The association between high and low levels of emotional reactivity (ER) as a temperamental trait and the dopamine D4 receptor (DRD4) exon III polymorphism in healthy men aged 18 to 27 (M= 21.03, SD = 2.23) was examined. ER, measured by the Formal Characteristics of Behavior–Temperament Inventory (FCB-TI), is defined as a tendency to react intensively to emotion-generating stimuli and is expressed in high emotional sensitivity and in low emotional endurance. Data analysis demonstrated a statistically significant difference in the distribution of genotypic frequencies between the low and high ER groups: χ2 = 4.88; df = 1; p = .027, odds ratio (OR) =2.85, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.11–7.32. An insignificant difference in allele frequencies between the two groups was noted: χ2 = 7.47; df = 3; p = .058; OR = 2.9, 95% CI = 1.29–6.53. These findings suggest a role of the DRD4 exon III polymorphism in the modulation of ER as a temperamental trait. Due to the preliminary nature of our findings, replication is necessary.

Type
Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2005