Oxytocin Receptor Gene (OXTR) and Childhood Adversity Influence Trust

Shaofeng Zheng; Takahiko Masuda; Masahiro Matsunaga; Yasuki Noguchi; Yohsuke Ohtsubo; Hidenori Yamasue; Keiko Ishii

doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2020.104840

Oxytocin Receptor Gene (OXTR) and Childhood Adversity Influence Trust

Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2020 Nov:121:104840. doi: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2020.104840. Epub 2020 Aug 18.

Authors

Shaofeng Zheng¹, Takahiko Masuda², Masahiro Matsunaga³, Yasuki Noguchi⁴, Yohsuke Ohtsubo⁴, Hidenori Yamasue⁵, Keiko Ishii⁶

Affiliations

¹ Department of Cognitive and Psychological Sciences, Graduate School of Informatics, Nagoya University, Japan.
² Department of Psychology, University of Alberta, Canada.
³ Department of Health and Psychosocial Medicine, Aichi Medical University, Japan.
⁴ Department of Psychology, Graduate School of Humanities, Kobe University, Japan.
⁵ Department of Psychiatry, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Japan.
⁶ Department of Cognitive and Psychological Sciences, Graduate School of Informatics, Nagoya University, Japan. Electronic address: ishiik@i.nagoya-u.ac.jp.

PMID: 32866773
DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2020.104840

Abstract

Early-life environments have been associated with various social behaviors, including trust, in late adolescence and adulthood. Given that the oxytocin receptor gene polymorphism (OXTR rs53576) moderates the impact of childhood experience on social behaviors, in the present study, we examined the main effect of childhood adversity through a self-report measure and its interactions with OXTR rs53576 on general trust among 203 Japanese and 200 European Canadian undergraduate students. After controlling for the effect of culture, the results indicated that childhood adversity had a negative association with general trust, and that OXTR rs53576 moderated the impact of childhood adversity on general trust. Specifically, the negative association between childhood adversity and general trust is only significant among homozygote A-allele carriers. These findings demonstrated that OXTR rs53576 moderated the relations between childhood experiences and social functioning in early adulthood.

Keywords: OXTR rs53576; caution; childhood adversity; general trust.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Adverse Childhood Experiences / psychology*
Alleles
Asian People / genetics
Canada
Female
Genotype
Humans
Male
Oxytocin / genetics
Oxytocin / metabolism
Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide
Receptors, Oxytocin / genetics*
Receptors, Oxytocin / metabolism
Social Behavior
Trust / psychology*
White People / genetics
Young Adult

Substances

OXTR protein, human
Receptors, Oxytocin
Oxytocin