Study of the association between the serotonin transporter gene regulatory region polymorphism and personality traits in a Japanese population

Neurosci Lett. 1999 Mar 26;263(2-3):205-7. doi: 10.1016/s0304-3940(99)00098-1.

Abstract

Recently a relationship between serotonin transporter transcriptional control region (5-HTTLPR) polymorphism and anxiety related personality traits in Caucasians was reported. We performed PCR of DNAs from the blood for determining the 5-HTTLPR genotypes of 191 Japanese subjects, which were medical staff and students, and obtained Revised NEO Personality Inventory (NEO-PI-R) and the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI) in 144 subjects. The association was analyzed by one-way ANOVA. The present study demonstrated that allelic frequency of 5-HTTLPR (s allele frequency was 0.785) in our subjects was considerably different from that in Caucasians. No significant differences were found in the anxiety-related personality traits among genotypes, while cooperativeness in TCI showed a significant difference among genotypes. The property of 5-HTTLPR may not be reflected directory on the personality inventories.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Alleles
  • Asian People / genetics
  • Carrier Proteins / genetics*
  • DNA / blood
  • Female
  • Gene Frequency
  • Genotype
  • Humans
  • Japan
  • Male
  • Membrane Glycoproteins / genetics*
  • Membrane Transport Proteins*
  • Nerve Tissue Proteins / genetics
  • Personality / genetics*
  • Personality Inventory
  • Polymorphism, Genetic*
  • Regulatory Sequences, Nucleic Acid*
  • Serotonin Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins
  • White People / genetics

Substances

  • Carrier Proteins
  • Membrane Glycoproteins
  • Membrane Transport Proteins
  • Nerve Tissue Proteins
  • SLC6A4 protein, human
  • Serotonin Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins
  • DNA