Association between OXTR SNPs and allocation of funds in the Dictator Game (high versus low allocators) and SVO

<p>DG = Dictator Game, categorized as high (> = 25) and low (<25) allocators.</p><p>SVO = Social Value Orientation, categorized as prosocial vs proself orientations.</p

Association between <i>OXTR</i> haplotypes and allocation of funds in the Dictator Game (high versus low allocators) and Social Value Orientations. Haplotypes are indicated in outlined blocks.

<p>¹ UNPHASED global p-value, additive model ² UNPHASED permutation test for the haplotype block ³ PBAT multi-variate statistic, dominant model.</p

Social Value Orientation Example Task

<p>Based on this example, if you were to select:</p><p>‘A’ you would receive 500 points = 5 and the “other” would receive 100 points = to 1</p><p>‘B’ you would receive 500 points = 5 and the “other” would receive 500 points = to 5</p><p>‘C’ you would receive 550 points = 5.5 and the “other” would receive 300 points = to 3</p

Cross tabulation of Dictator and SVO allocation of funds.

<p>Cross tabulation of Dictator giving with Social Value Orientation (SVO). High givers in the DG were significantly more likely to maintain prosocial value orientations as compared to low givers.</p

Visual schematic of the oxytocin receptor.

<p>Schematic representation of chromosome 3 and the oxytocin receptor (OXTR) gene with the location of the 16 tagging single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs).</p

Primers used for genotyping of OXTR tagged SNPs

<p>Primers used for genotyping of OXTR tagged SNPs</p

Distribution of Dictator allocations for student and mother samples.

<p>Allocation sums by participants grouped in 5 increments ( 5≈$1.17). For both samples, the modal value of 25 was used as the cutoff point to divide participants into low and high allocators.</p

Comparison of SVO Prosocial Responses by OXTR SNPs.

<p>Average number of prosocial responses in the Social Value Orientation task categorized by the three most significant OXTR SNPs. A family-based analysis for the three SNPs showed significant association with prosocial value orientations (PBAT dominant model: rs1042778 p = 0.001, rs2268490 p = 0.011, and rs237887 p = 0.005).</p

Epistatic Interaction between <i>AVPR1a</i> and <i>SLC6A4</i> Contributes to the Creative Dance Phenotype

<p>Promoter region polymorphisms in the AVPR1a receptor region possibly contribute to regional differences in brain arginine receptor 1a expression patterns [<a href="http://www.plosgenetics.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pgen.0010042#pgen-0010042-b42" target="_blank">42</a>]. Vasopressin release, and subsequent AVPR1a receptor activation, is partially regulated by serotonin (5-HT) [<a href="http://www.plosgenetics.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pgen.0010042#pgen-0010042-b28" target="_blank">28</a>]. 5-HT is removed from the synapse by the serotonin transporter <i>(SLC6A4),</i> which plays a major role in regulation of synaptic levels of this neurotransmitter. In turn, synaptic <i>SLC6A4</i> mRNA and protein levels are controlled in part by the presence or absence of a promoter region 44-bp insertion/deletion [<a href="http://www.plosgenetics.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pgen.0010042#pgen-0010042-b19" target="_blank">19</a>]. Subjects with polymorphic variants of these two genes are therefore predicted to show differences in serotonergic and vasopressin tone that contribute to differences in higher psychological constructs including TPQ Reward Dependence (associated with <i>AVPR1a</i> and <i>AVPR1a</i> × <i>SLC6A4</i> gene × gene interaction) and TAS (associated with <i>SLC6A4</i> and <i>AVPR1a</i> × <i>SLC6A4</i> gene × gene interaction). Dancers score high on these two personality constructs, suggesting the hypothesis that the association between <i>AVPR1a</i> and <i>SLC6A4</i> polymorphisms and dancing is likely mediated by the action of these two genes primarily on social communication (measured by TPQ Reward Dependence scores) and spirituality (measured by TAS scores). Similar to genes contributing to other complex traits, there are no “dancing” genes but rather common polymorphisms that contribute to simpler endophenotypes [<a href="http://www.plosgenetics.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pgen.0010042#pgen-0010042-b77" target="_blank">77</a>], such as TPQ Reward Dependence and TAS, that constitute some of the critical psychological underpinnings of the dance phenotype.</p

Distribution of TAS in Female Dancers and Nondancers/Nonathletes

<p>Distribution of TAS in Female Dancers and Nondancers/Nonathletes</p