Open AccessAssociation of a Common Oxytocin Receptor Gene Polymorphism with Self-Reported ‘Empathic Concern’ in a Large Population of Healthy Volunteers
Author(s) -
Franz Korbinian Huetter,
Hagen S. Bachmann,
Anette Reinders,
Doris Siffert,
Patrick Stelmach,
Dietmar Knop,
Peter A. Horn,
Winfried Siffert
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
plos one
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.99
H-Index - 332
ISSN - 1932-6203
DOI - 10.1371/journal.pone.0160059
Subject(s) - empathy , interpersonal reactivity index , oxytocin receptor , empathic concern , psychology , trait , perspective taking , polymorphism (computer science) , genotype , population , clinical psychology , developmental psychology , oxytocin , medicine , genetics , biology , gene , psychiatry , neuroscience , environmental health , computer science , programming language
Background Previous research has linked genomic variations of the oxytocin receptor ( OXTR ) gene with individual differences in empathy. The impact of these variations on specific cognitive and emotional aspects of empathy, however, remains to be clarified. Methods We analysed associations of a common OXTR polymorphism (rs53576) with trait empathy in a sample of 421 blood donors (231 M, 190 F; age 18–74) using the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) as an established multidimensional self-report measure of empathy. Results Female sex was significantly associated with higher empathy scores in all IRI scales (p<0.001) with the exception of the cognitive perspective taking scale (p = 0.09). The overall trait empathy score was significantly associated with rs53576 (p = 0.01), with mean scores increasing from AA to GG genotypes. An analysis of the IRI subscores revealed that the polymorphism was especially associated with the emotional empathic concern scale (p = 0.02). Separate analysis of the male and female subgroup revealed a significant association of the polymorphism with female (p = 0.04), but not with male (p = 0.20) empathic concern. A comparison of effect sizes between the groups showed greater effects for women compared to men although effect size differences did not become significant in our sample. Conclusions Our findings suggest a significant association of the rs53576 OXTR gene polymorphism with trait empathy and especially with emotional aspects of empathy. This association is possibly weaker or absent in men compared to women.