Highs and lows: genetic susceptibility to daily events

Why people differ in their susceptibility to external events is essential to our understanding of personality, human development, and mental disorders. Genes explain a substantial portion of these differences. Specifically, genes influencing the serotonin system are hypothesized to be differential s...

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Hauptverfasser: Sicorello, Maurizio (Verfasst von) , Dieckmann, Linda (Verfasst von) , Moser, Dirk (Verfasst von) , Lux, Vanessa (Verfasst von) , Luhmann, Maike (Verfasst von) , Neubauer, Andreas B. (Verfasst von) , Schlotz, Wolff (Verfasst von) , Kumsta, Robert (Verfasst von)
Dokumenttyp: Article (Journal)
Sprache:Englisch
Veröffentlicht: August 13, 2020
In: PLOS ONE
Year: 2020, Jahrgang: 15, Heft: 8, Pages: 1-17
ISSN:1932-6203
DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0237001
Online-Zugang:Verlag, kostenfrei, Volltext: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0237001
Verlag, kostenfrei, Volltext: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0237001
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Verfasserangaben:Maurizio Sicorello, Linda Dieckmann, Dirk Moser, Vanessa Lux, Maike Luhmann, Andreas B. Neubauer, Wolff Schlotz, Robert Kumsta
Beschreibung
Zusammenfassung:Why people differ in their susceptibility to external events is essential to our understanding of personality, human development, and mental disorders. Genes explain a substantial portion of these differences. Specifically, genes influencing the serotonin system are hypothesized to be differential susceptibility factors, determining a person’s reactivity to both positive and negative environments. We tested whether genetic variation in the serotonin transporter (5-HTTLPR) is a differential susceptibility factor for daily events. Participants (N = 326, 77% female, mean age = 25, range = 17-36) completed smartphone questionnaires four times a day over four to five days, measuring stressors, uplifts, positive and negative affect. Affect was predicted from environment valence in the previous hour on a within-person level using three-level autoregressive linear mixed models. The 5-HTTLPR fulfilled all criteria of a differential susceptibility factor: Positive affect in carriers of the short allele (S) was less reactive to both uplifts and stressors, compared to homozygous carriers of the long allele (L/L). This pattern might reflect relative affective inflexibility in S-allele carriers. Our study provides insight into the serotonin system’s general role in susceptibility and highlights the need to assess the whole spectrum of naturalistic experiences.
Beschreibung:Gesehen am 20.04.2026
Beschreibung:Online Resource
ISSN:1932-6203
DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0237001