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Influence of Serotonin Transporter Genotype and Catechol-O-Methyltransferase Val158Met Polymorphism on Recognition of Emotional Faces

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 October 2011

Michaela Defrancesco ,
Harald Niederstätter ,
Walther Parson ,
Herbert Oberacher ,
Hartmann Hinterhuber ,
Markus Canazei ,
Judith Bidner ,
Eberhard A. Deisenhammer ,
Georg Kemmler  and
Elisabeth M. Weiss
...Show all authors
Michaela Defrancesco
Affiliation:
Department of General Psychiatry, Innsbruck Medical University, Innsbruck, Austria
Harald Niederstätter
Affiliation:
Institute of Legal Medicine, Innsbruck Medical University, Innsbruck, Austria
Walther Parson
Affiliation:
Institute of Legal Medicine, Innsbruck Medical University, Innsbruck, Austria
Herbert Oberacher
Affiliation:
Institute of Legal Medicine, Innsbruck Medical University, Innsbruck, Austria
Hartmann Hinterhuber
Affiliation:
Department of General Psychiatry, Innsbruck Medical University, Innsbruck, Austria
Markus Canazei
Affiliation:
Bartenbach Lichtlabor, Innsbruck, Austria
Judith Bidner
Affiliation:
Department of General Psychiatry, Innsbruck Medical University, Innsbruck, Austria
Eberhard A. Deisenhammer
Affiliation:
Department of General Psychiatry, Innsbruck Medical University, Innsbruck, Austria
Georg Kemmler
Affiliation:
Department of General Psychiatry, Innsbruck Medical University, Innsbruck, Austria
Elisabeth M. Weiss
Affiliation:
Department of Biological Psychology, Karl Franzenzs University Graz, Graz, Austria
Josef Marksteiner*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy A, LKH Hall, Hall, Austria
*
Correspondence and reprint requests to: Josef Marksteiner, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy A, Milser Straße 10, LKH Hall, A-6060 Hall, Austria. E-mail: j.marksteiner@i-med.ac.at
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Abstract

Monoamines, such as serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine, play a crucial role in the regulation of emotion processing and mood. In this study, we investigated how polymorphisms of the serotonin transporter (5-HTT) and catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) influence emotion recognition abilities. We recruited 88 female undergraduate students and assessed 5-HTT genotype and the COMT Val158Met polymorphism. The subjects completed two computerized tasks: The Penn Emotion Recognition Test (ER40) and the Penn Emotion Acuity Test (PEAT). For the ER40, we found that s-allele carriers performed significantly worse in the recognition of happy faces, but did better in the recognition of fearful faces, compared with homozygous l-carriers of the 5-HTT gene. Neither 5-HTT nor COMT genotypes influenced the ability to discriminate between different intensities of sadness or happiness on the PEAT. Moreover, there was no significant interaction between the two polymorphisms in their effect on performance on the ER40 or the PEAT. (JINS, 2011, 17, 1014–1020)

Keywords

SerotoninEmotion recognition5-HTTCOMTGeneticsEmotional face
Type
Regular Articles
Information
Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society , Volume 17 , Issue 6 , November 2011 , pp. 1014 - 1020
Copyright
Copyright © The International Neuropsychological Society 2011

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