ASSOCIATION OF THE SEROTONIN TRANSPORTER PROMOTER REGION POLYMORPHISM WITH BIASED ATTENTION FOR NEGATIVE WORD STIMULI

作者：Kwang Tracy; Wells Tony T; McGeary John E; Swann William B Jr; Beevers Christopher G^*

来源：Depression and Anxiety, 2010, 27(8): 746-751.

DOI：10.1002/da.20708

• serotonin transporter gene
• anxiety
• depression
• 5-HTTLPR polymorphism
• attention

Background: Biased attention for emotional stimuli reflects vulnerability or resilience to emotional disorders. The current study examines whether the 5-HTTLPR polymorphism is associated with attentional biases for negative word stimuli. Methods: Unmedicated, young adults with low current depression and anxiety symptoms (N = 106) were genotyped for the 5-HTTLPR, including the single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs25531 in the long allele of the 5-HTTLPR. Participants then completed a standard dot-probe task that measured attentional bias toward anxiety, dysphoric, and self-esteem words. Results: The L(A)L(A) allele group demonstrated an attentional bias away from negative word stimuli. This attentional bias was absent among the S/L(G) carriers. Conclusions: These findings replicate previous work and suggest that 5-HTTLPR L(A) homozygotes possess a protective attentional bias that may decrease susceptibility to depression and anxiety. Depression and Anxiety 27:746-751, 2010.

• 出版日期2010-8