Neurobiology of Self-Regulation: Longitudinal Influence of FKBP5 and Intimate Partner Violence on Emotional and Cognitive Development in Childhood.

OBJECTIVE: Self-regulation includes the volitional and nonvolitional regulation of emotional, cognitive, and physiological responses to stimulation. It develops from infancy through individual characteristics and the environment, with the stress hormone system as a central player. Accordingly, the authors hypothesized that genes involved in regulating the stress system, such as FK506 binding protein 5 (FKBP5), interact with early-life stress exposure, such as exposure to intimate partner violence (IPV), to predict self-regulation indicators and associated outcomes, including behavioral and learning problems in school. METHODS: Study participants were a longitudinal birth cohort of 910 children for whom FKBP5 genotypes were available and who were assessed for exposure to IPV during the first 2 years of life as well as multiple measures of self-regulation: stress-induced cortisol reactivity and fear-elicited emotional reactivity at 7, 15, and 24 months, executive function at 36, 48, and 60 months, and emotional and behavioral difficulties and reading and math achievement in school grades 1, 2, and 5. Data were analyzed using longitudinal clustering and ordinal logistic regression procedures followed by mixed linear modeling. RESULTS: Children with two copies of a risk FKBP5 haplotype and IPV exposure were significantly more likely to have a developmental trajectory characterized by high, prolonged stress-induced cortisol reactivity and emotional reactivity in toddlerhood, followed by low executive function at school entry and high emotional and behavior problems and low reading ability in the primary school grades. CONCLUSIONS: The interaction of FKBP5 and IPV affects the physiological response to stress early in life, with consequences for emotional and cognitive self-regulation. Targeting self-regulation may present an early intervention strategy for children facing genetic and environmental risk.

Interaction of HPA axis genetics and early life stress shapes emotion recognition in healthy adults.

BACKGROUND: Early life stress (ELS) affects facial emotion recognition (FER), as well as the underlying brain network. However, there is considerable inter-individual variability in these ELS-caused alterations. As the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis is assumed to mediate neural and behavioural sequelae of ELS, the genetic disposition towards HPA axis reactivity might explain differential vulnerabilities. METHODS: An additive genetic profile score (GPS) of HPA axis reactivity was built from 6 SNPs in 3 HPA axis-related genes (FKBP5, CRHR1, NR3C1). We studied two independent samples. As a proof of concept, GPS was tested as a predictor of cortisol increase to a psychosocial challenge (MIST) in a healthy community sample of n = 40. For the main study, a sample of n = 170 completed a video-based FER task and retrospectively reported ELS experiences in the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ). RESULTS: GPS positively predicted cortisol increase in the stress challenge over and above covariates. CTQ and genetic profile scores interacted to predict facial emotion recognition, such that ELS had a detrimental effect on emotion processing only in individuals with higher GPS. Post-hoc moderation analyses revealed that, while a less stress-responsive genetic profile was protective against ELS effects, individuals carrying a moderate to high GPS were affected by ELS in their ability to infer emotion from facial expressions. DISCUSSION: These results suggest that a biologically informed genetic profile score can capture the genetic disposition to HPA axis reactivity and moderates the influence of early environmental factors on facial emotion recognition. Further research should investigate the neural mechanisms underlying this moderation. The GPS used here might prove a powerful tool for studying inter-individual differences in vulnerability to early life stress.

Sex-specific association of a common GNAS polymorphism with self-reported cognitive empathy in healthy volunteers.

BACKGROUND: In a recent study, we found associations of a common oxytocin receptor (OXTR) polymorphism with inter-individual differences in empathy, especially with emotional empathy in women. Many other studies found specific associations of oxytocin, arginine-vasopressin, serotonin and dopamine receptor gene polymorphisms with various aspects of trait empathy. As all these receptors belong to the guanine-binding protein (G protein) coupled receptor family, it is a reasonable assumption, that alterations in genes encoding G protein subunits also influence the signal transduction in empathy related circuits. However, to the best of our knowledge, these genomic variations have not yet been studied in genetic research on empathy. METHODS: Here, we analysed associations of a common polymorphism of the GNAS gene (C393T) in a previously characterized sample of 421 healthy blood donors (231 M, 190 F; age 18-74). The GNAS gene encodes the G protein adenylyl cyclase stimulator (Gαs) G protein subunit, which activates cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP)-dependent pathways by stimulating the adenylyl cyclase. Cognitive and emotional aspects of dispositional empathy were tested using Davis' Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI). RESULTS: In the complete sample, associations of C393T genotype with IRI empathy scores, including cognitive empathy (p = 0.055) and perspective taking (p = 0.057) scores did not reach a level of significance. None of the IRI scores was near to being significantly associated with C393T genotype for men alone. In females, however, genotype was significantly associated with cognitive empathy (r = -.204, p = 0.005) and perspective taking (r = -.209, p = 0.004), accounting for 4.2% and 4.4% of variability. The association of genotype with perspective taking remained significant after adjustment for multiple comparisons (p = 0.045). The 393C-allele, which had been identified as a risk factor in several medical conditions such as hypertension, obesity and diabetes, was associated with higher cognitive empathy compared to the T allele in our sample. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest a significant association of GNAS C393T genotypes with the cognitive empathic capacity of perspective taking. This association could only be found in female participants.

Overlap Between the General Factor of Personality and Trait Emotional Intelligence: A Genetic Correlation Study.

A previous meta-analysis (Van der Linden et al., Psychol Bull 143:36-52, 2017) showed that the General Factor of Personality (GFP) overlaps with ability as well as trait emotional intelligence (EI). The correlation between trait EI and the GFP was so high (ρ = 0.88) in that meta-analysis that these two may be considered virtually identical constructs. The present study builds on these findings by examining whether the strong phenotypic correlation between the GFP and trait EI has a genetic component. In a sample of monozygotic and dizygotic twins, the heritability estimates for the GFP and trait EI were 53 and 45%, respectively. Moreover, there was a strong genetic correlation of r = .90 between the GFP and trait EI. Additional analyses suggested that a substantial proportion of the genetic correlations reflects non-additive genetic effects (e.g., dominance and epistasis). These findings are discussed in light of evolutionary accounts of the GFP.

Estrogen levels, emotion regulation, and emotional symptoms of women with premenstrual dysphoric disorder: The moderating effect of estrogen receptor 1α polymorphism.

BACKGROUND: This study evaluated the association between estrogen levels, emotion regulation, depression, anxiety, and stress of women with premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD). We also evaluated the moderating effect of estrogen receptor (ESR) α-Xbal polymorphism on the aforementioned association. METHODS: A total of 100 women were diagnosed with PMDD based on psychiatric interviews and a prospective investigation of 3 menstrual cycles. A total of 96 normal individuals were recruited as controls. Their estrogen levels, depression, anxiety, stress, and ESR α-Xbal polymorphism in both premenstrual and follicular phases were assessed, and these data were included in the final analysis. RESULTS: The PMDD group had high depression, anxiety, and stress and low emotional adjusting and tolerating in the premenstrual phase. Emotional adjustment was negatively associated with depression, anxiety and stress. No association was observed between PMDD and estrogen level. However, premenstrual estrogen level was negatively correlated with anxiety and stress in women with PMDD. The association was only significant in G carriers of ESR α-Xbal, as was the difference in premenstrual emotion regulation between the PMDD and control groups. CONCLUSIONS: The results demonstrate the association between estrogen and anxiety in PMDD, supporting the claim that women with PMDD differ in their responses to normal estrogen levels. Furthermore, this association and dysfunctional emotional regulation in PMDD existed only among the G carriers of ESR α-Xbal polymorphism. Future studies should investigate the effect of estrogen on brain functions involving emotional regulation in women with PMDD, stratified by ESR α-Xbal polymorphism.

Facial emotion recognition in schizophrenia: An exploratory study on the role of comorbid alcohol and substance use disorders and COMT Val158Met.

OBJECTIVES: To explore whether facial emotion recognition (FER), impaired in both schizophrenia and alcohol and substance use disorders (AUDs/SUDs), is additionally compromised among comorbid subjects, also considering the role of catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) Val158Met. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional study, randomly recruiting 67 subjects with a DSM-IV-TR diagnosis of schizophrenia, and rigorously assessing AUDs/SUDs and COMT Val158Met polymorphism. FER was assessed using the Ekman 60 Faces Test- EK-60F. RESULTS: As a whole, the sample scored significantly lower than normative data on EK-60F. However, subjects with comorbid AUDs/SUDs did not perform worse on EK-60F than those without, who had a better performance on EK-60F if they carried the COMT Val/Met variant. CONCLUSIONS: This study is the first to date examining the impact of AUDs/SUDs and COMT variants on FER in an epidemiologically representative sample of subjects with schizophrenia. Our findings do not suggest an additional impairment from comorbid AUDs/SUDs on FER among subjects with schizophrenia, whilst COMT Val158Met, though based on a limited sample, might have a role just among those without AUDs/SUDs. Based on our results, additional research is needed also exploring differential roles of various substances.

[A role of interactions between N-methyl-D-aspartate and dopamine receptors in facial emotion recognition impairment in schizophrenia]. / Rol' vzaimodeistviia genov NMDA- i dofaminovykh retseptorov v narushenii raspoznavaniia émotsional'noi mimiki pri shizofrenii.

AIM: To search for genetic mechanisms of facial emotion recognition (FER) impairment, one of the features of schizophrenia that affects social adaptation of patients. Based on the view implicating the interplay between dopaminergic and glutamatergic systems into the pathogenesis of schizophrenia, authors explored the interaction effects of the C366G polymorphism in the GRIN2B gene encoding NMDA receptor subunit NR2B with ANKK1/DRD2 Taq1A and 48-VNTR DRD4 polymorphisms on FER. MATERIAL AND METHODS: GRIN2B -DRD2 interaction effects were studied in a sample of 237 patients and 235 healthy controls, GRIN2B - DRD4 in 268 patients and 208 controls. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: Both effects were significant in combined samples of patients and controls (GRIN2B X DRD2, F=4.12, p=0.043; GRIN2B X DRD4, F=6.43, p=0.012). Further analysis confirmed the interaction effect of GRIN2B and DRD2 polymorphisms on FER in patients with schizophrenia. In patients with a less efficient allele of the DRD2 in the absence of the minor allele of the GRIN2B C366G polymorphism, the results were close to normal values while patients with minor alleles of both polymorphisms showed the worst results. This finding is in line with the conceptions on a possible role of NMDA-receptor hypofunction and D2-mediated regulation of NMDA-receptor activity in FER impairments in schizophrenia.

Associations between the oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR) rs53576 polymorphism and emotional processing of social and nonsocial cues: an event-related potential (ERP) study.

BACKGROUND: Oxytocin receptor (OXTR) gene polymorphisms are related to individual differences in emotional processing of social cues. However, whether OXTR polymorphisms affect emotional processing of nonsocial cues remains unclear. The present study investigated the relationship between the OXTR rs53576 polymorphism and emotional processing of social cues and nonsocial cues. METHODS: Event-related potentials were recorded from 88 male participants while images of humans and images of objects were presented as social cues and nonsocial cues, respectively. RESULTS: First, the results showed that GG carriers of OXTR rs53576 showed more negative N1 (50-200 ms) than AA carriers in response to images of both humans and objects. Second, GG carriers showed more negative N2 (200-320 ms) than AA carriers in response to images of humans but not in response to images of objects. Third, GG carriers showed more negative N2 in response to images of humans than images of objects, whereas AA carriers showed the opposite pattern. Fourth, we observed no difference in late positive potential (600-1000 ms) to images of humans or objects that depended on the OXTR rs53576 polymorphism. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that the OXTR rs53576 polymorphism affects emotional processing of not only social cues but also nonsocial cues in the very early stage (reflected in N1); however, the data also suggest that the OXTR rs53576 polymorphism is related specifically to increased emotional processing of social cues in the middle stage (reflected in N2).

Association between polygenic risk for schizophrenia, neurocognition and social cognition across development.

Breakthroughs in genomics have begun to unravel the genetic architecture of schizophrenia risk, providing methods for quantifying schizophrenia polygenic risk based on common genetic variants. Our objective in the current study was to understand the relationship between schizophrenia genetic risk variants and neurocognitive development in healthy individuals. We first used combined genomic and neurocognitive data from the Philadelphia Neurodevelopmental Cohort (4303 participants ages 8-21 years) to screen 26 neurocognitive phenotypes for their association with schizophrenia polygenic risk. Schizophrenia polygenic risk was estimated for each participant based on summary statistics from the most recent schizophrenia genome-wide association analysis (Psychiatric Genomics Consortium 2014). After correction for multiple comparisons, greater schizophrenia polygenic risk was significantly associated with reduced speed of emotion identification and verbal reasoning. These associations were significant by age 9 years and there was no evidence of interaction between schizophrenia polygenic risk and age on neurocognitive performance. We then looked at the association between schizophrenia polygenic risk and emotion identification speed in the Harvard/MGH Brain Genomics Superstruct Project sample (695 participants ages 18-35 years), where we replicated the association between schizophrenia polygenic risk and emotion identification speed. These analyses provide evidence for a replicable association between polygenic risk for schizophrenia and a specific aspect of social cognition. Our findings indicate that individual differences in genetic risk for schizophrenia are linked with the development of aspects of social cognition and potentially verbal reasoning, and that these associations emerge relatively early in development.

Severe psychosocial deprivation in early childhood is associated with increased DNA methylation across a region spanning the transcription start site of CYP2E1.

Exposure to adverse rearing environments including institutional deprivation and severe childhood abuse is associated with an increased risk for mental and physical health problems across the lifespan. Although the mechanisms mediating these effects are not known, recent work in rodent models suggests that epigenetic processes may be involved. We studied the impact of severe early-life adversity on epigenetic variation in a sample of adolescents adopted from the severely depriving orphanages of the Romanian communist era in the 1980s. We quantified buccal cell DNA methylation at ~400 000 sites across the genome in Romanian adoptees exposed to either extended (6-43 months; n=16) or limited duration (<6 months; n=17) of severe early-life deprivation, in addition to a matched sample of UK adoptees (n=16) not exposed to severe deprivation. Although no probe-wise differences remained significant after controlling for the number of probes tested, we identified an exposure-associated differentially methylated region (DMR) spanning nine sequential CpG sites in the promoter-regulatory region of the cytochrome P450 2E1 gene (CYP2E1) on chromosome 10 (corrected P=2.98 × 10(-5)). Elevated DNA methylation across this region was also associated with deprivation-related clinical markers of impaired social cognition. Our data suggest that environmental insults of sufficient biological impact during early development are associated with long-lasting epigenetic changes, potentially reflecting a biological mechanism linking the effects of early-life adversity to cognitive and neurobiological phenotypes.

Conectividad cerebral en la regulación emocional: la solución de problemas emocionales / Brain connectivity in emotional regulation: the emotional solving problems

La solución de problemas emocionales es un mecanismo de regulación emocional que utiliza estrategias cognitivo-lingüísticas para reducir el impacto afectivo de una situación y lograr un objetivo propuesto. Es considerado un mecanismo saludable junto con la revaluación, a diferencia de la supresión y la rumiación. Estudios con técnicas de neuroimágenes han propuesto áreas cerebrales asociadas al funcionamiento de los diferentes mecanismos de regulación emocional. En este trabajo se propuso investigar los gradientes de conectividad cerebral de sustancia blanca asociados a la solución de problemas emocionales, con el objetivo de proponer una red de conectividad neuronal de este mecanismo de regulación emocional. Para evaluar la efectividad de la solución de problemas emocionales se utilizó una tarea conductual desarrollada recientemente basada en la recuperación semántica esforzada con estímulos de alto impacto afectivo. Participaron del estudio 32 mujeres jóvenes (M= 24,34; DS=5,24). Se obtuvieron coeficientes de correlación de Pearson entre las medidas del porcentaje de acierto de la tarea conductual y la anisotropía fraccional de los fascículos de sustancia blanca de interés. Los resultados proponen un red neuronal de solución de problemas emocionales en la que participarían principalmente el Fascículo Arqueado y Fronto Occipital Inferior del hemisferio izquierdo, cruciales en la implementación de estrategias de carácter léxico y semántico para la disminución del impacto afectivo (AU)

Emotional solving problems is an emotional regulation mechanism that implements cognitive-linguistics strategies to reduce the affective impact in a situation and to accomplish a proposed objective. Together with the reappraisal, it is considered a healthy mechanism, in difference with suppression and rumination. Researches that have used neuroimaging techniques have proposed cerebral areas associated to the functioning of the different emotional regulation mechanisms. The objective of this research was to study the brain connectivity gradients of white matter associated to emotional solving problems, to propose a brain connectivity network of this emotional regulation mechanism. The efficacy of emotional solving problems was measured with a behavioral task recently developed, based on semantic effortful retrieval with high affective impact stimulus. 32 young women (M= 24,34; DS=5,24) participated of the study. Correlations of Pearson were performed between accuracy measures of the behavioral task and fractional anisotropy of the white matter fascicles of interest. The results propose a brain connectivity network of emotional solving problems with the main participation of the Arcuate and Fronto Occipital Inferior fascicles of left hemisphere, both crucial in the implementation of lexical and semantic strategies to the reduction of affective impact (AU)

Programa de entrenamiento en coherencia cardiaca para la reducción del estrés en personal sanitario con cervicalgia crónica: un estudio piloto / Training program in cardiac coherence for stress reduction in healthcare personnel with chronic neck pain: a pilot study

La presente nota clínica tiene por objetivo divulgar los resultados de un trabajo piloto para valorar las potencialidades de un entrenamiento en coherencia cardiaca (CC) para la reducción del estrés en personal sanitario con cervicalgia crónica. Para ello, 8 enfermeras participaron en un programa de entrenamiento en CC y se evaluadas pre/post en los siguientes factores: dolor (EVA), inteligencia emocional (TMMS-24), sintomatología ansioso-depresiva (escalas Hamilton y Goldberg) y estrés laboral (NSS). Tras el entrenamiento se observó una disminución significativa en las puntuaciones de dolor y su sintomatología asociada (contracturas, dolor por movilidad y parestesias), así como en la sintomatología depresiva. Asimismo, se observaron mayores puntuaciones en inteligencia emocional (escala de percepción) (AU)

This case report aims to disseminate the results of a pilot study exploring the potentialities of training program in cardiac coherence (CC) for reducing stress in nurses with chronic neck pain. For this purpose, 8 nurses participated in a training program in CC and were evaluated pre/post on the following factors: pain (VAS), emotional intelligence (TMMS-24), anxious depressive symptoms (Hamilton & Goldberg scales) and job related stress (NSS). After the training, a significant decrease in pain scores and associated symptoms (spasms, pain due to mobility and paresthesias) as well as depressive symptoms was observed. Also, higher scores were observed in emotional intelligence (perception scale) (AU)

The effect of relational training on intelligence quotient: a case study / El efecto del entrenamiento en comportamiento relacional sobre el cociente de inteligencia: un estudio de caso

BACKGROUND: Relational training protocols based on Relational Frame Theory (RFT) are showing promising results in increasing intelligence quotient. This case study aimed at analyzing the effect of a training protocol in fluency and flexibility in relational responding on intelligence quotient with a 4-year-old child. METHOD: The child's cognitive and psychomotor development was evaluated before and after the implementation of the training protocol using the McCarthy's Aptitudes and Psychomotricity Scale (MSCA). The training protocol consisted of a multiple-exemplar-training (MET) in relational framing in accordance with COORDINATION (Phases 1 and 2), OPPOSITION (Phase 3 and 4), and COMPARISON (Phases 5 and 6). The MET protocol was implemented in approximately 12 hours throughout five and one half months. RESULTS: The training was effective in establishing relational responding in OPPOSITION and COMPARISON frames as well as in promoting fluency and flexibility in all the three types of trained relations. After this training, the child showed an increase above 1.5 SD in the General Cognitive Index of the MSCA (from 106 to 131). CONCLUSIONS: This case study adds further empirical evidence of the potential of RFT training to improve cognitive abilities and intelligence

ANTECEDENTES: los protocolos de entrenamiento relacional basados en la Teoría del Marco Relacional (TMR) están mostrando resultados prometedores en el incremento del cociente de inteligencia. El objetivo de este estudio de caso fue analizar el efecto de un entrenamiento en fluidez y flexibilidad en comportamiento relacional sobre el cociente de inteligencia en un niño de 4 años. MÉTODO: se evaluó el desarrollo cognitivo y psicomotor del niño a través de las Escalas de Aptitudes y Psicomotricidad de McCarthy (MSCA). La intervención consistió en un entrenamiento relacional en múltiples ejemplos para enmarcar en COORDINACIÓN (Fases 1 y 2), OPOSICIÓN (Fases 3 y 4) y COMPARACIÓN (Fases 5 y 6). El entrenamiento se aplicó en 12 horas aproximadamente durante cinco meses y medio, y resultó eficaz en generar comportamiento relacional para enmarcar en OPOSICIÓN y COMPARACIÓN y en promover fluidez y flexibilidad en los tres marcos relacionales. RESULTADOS: el niño mostró un incremento superior a 1.5 DT en el Índice Cognitivo General del MSCA (de 106 a 131). CONCLUSIONES: este estudio añade evidencia al potencial de los entrenamientos basados en la TMR para mejorar las habilidades cognitivas e inteligencia

Chronic widespread pain: clinical comorbidities and psychological correlates.

Recent studies have provided consistent evidence for a genetic influence on chronic widespread pain (CWP). The aim of this study was to investigate (1) the etiological structure underlying CWP by examining the covariation between CWP and psychological comorbidities and psychoaffective correlates and (2) the decomposition of the covariation into genetic and environmental components. A total of 3266 female twins (mean age 56.6 years) were subject to multivariate analyses. Using validated questionnaires to classify twins as having CWP, the prevalence of CWP was 20.8%. In the multivariate analysis, the most suitable model was the common pathway model. This model revealed 2 underlying latent variables, one common to anxiety, emotional intelligence, and emotional instability (f1) and the other common to depression and CWP (f2), the latter being highly heritable (86%). Both latent variables (f1 and f2) shared an additive genetic and a nonshared environmental factor. In addition, a second additive genetic factor loading only on f2 was found. This study reveals the structure of genetic and environmental influences of CWP and its psychoaffective correlates. The results show that the clustering of CWP and depression is due to a common, highly heritable, underlying latent trait. In addition, we found evidence that CWP, anxiety, emotional instability, and emotional intelligence are influenced by different underlying latent traits sharing the same genetic and nonshared environmental factors. This is the first study to reveal the structure and relative importance of genetic and environmental influences on complex etiological mechanisms of CWP and its correlates.

Social responsiveness, an autism endophenotype: genomewide significant linkage to two regions on chromosome 8.

OBJECTIVE: Autism spectrum disorder is characterized by deficits in social function and the presence of repetitive and restrictive behaviors. Following a previous test of principle, the authors adopted a quantitative approach to discovering genes contributing to the broader autism phenotype by using social responsiveness as an endophenotype for autism spectrum disorder. METHOD: Linkage analyses using scores from the Social Responsiveness Scale were performed in 590 families from the Autism Genetic Resource Exchange, a largely multiplex autism spectrum disorder cohort. Regional and genomewide association analyses were performed to search for common variants contributing to social responsiveness. RESULTS: Social Responsiveness Scale scores were unimodally distributed in male offspring from multiplex autism families, in contrast with a bimodal distribution observed in female offspring. In correlated analyses differing by Social Responsiveness Scale respondent, genomewide significant linkage for social responsiveness was identified at chr8p21.3 (multipoint LOD=4.11; teacher/parent scores) and chr8q24.22 (multipoint LOD=4.54; parent-only scores), respectively. Genomewide or linkage-directed association analyses did not detect common variants contributing to social responsiveness. CONCLUSIONS: The sex-differential distributions of Social Responsiveness Scale scores in multiplex autism families likely reflect mechanisms contributing to the sex ratio for autism observed in the general population and form a quantitative signature of reduced penetrance of inherited liability to autism spectrum disorder among females. The identification of two strong loci for social responsiveness validates the endophenotype approach for the identification of genetic variants contributing to complex traits such as autism spectrum disorder. While causal mutations have yet to be identified, these findings are consistent with segregation of rare genetic variants influencing social responsiveness and underscore the increasingly recognized role of rare inherited variants in the genetic architecture of autism spectrum disorder.

On the Genetic and Environmental Correlations between Trait Emotional Intelligence and Vocational Interest Factors.

The phenotypic (observed), genetic, and environmental correlations were examined in a sample of adult twins between the four factors and global score of the trait emotional intelligence questionnaire (TEIQue) and the seven vocational interest factors of the Jackson Career Explorer (JCE). Multiple significant correlations were found involving the work style vocational interest factor (consisting of job security, stamina, accountability, planfulness, and interpersonal confidence) and the social vocational interest factor (which included interests in the social sciences, personal services, teaching, social services, and elementary education), both of which correlated significantly with all of the TEIQue variables (well-being, self-control, emotionality, sociability, and global trait EI). Following bivariate genetic analyses, most of the significant phenotypic correlations were found to also have significant genetic correlations as well as significant non-shared (unique) environmental correlations.

Relaciones entre trastornos del lenguaje y competencia socioemocional / Relationships between language disorders and socio-emotional competence

Introducción. Existe una comorbilidad elevada entre los trastornos del lenguaje y los problemas conductuales, emocionales y sociales. Objetivo. Revisar la bibliografía existente sobre las dificultades sociales y emocionales de los niños con trastorno específico del lenguaje desde una perspectiva evolutiva. Desarrollo. En la infancia temprana, los resultados acerca de este tipo de dificultades en niños con un retraso del lenguaje no son concluyentes. Sin embargo, desde el período de educación infantil, la investigación advierte de una mayor ocurrencia e alteraciones en el área social y emocional. Los estudios longitudinales que han permitido determinar el ajuste psicosocial en la adolescencia indican un mayor riesgo de presentar experiencias de victimización y bullying o de desarrollar ansiedad y depresión a largo plazo, aunque algunos trabajos ofrecen una panorámica más alentadora. Conclusiones. La afectación de la comprensión y del componente pragmático del lenguaje es un predictor importante en la manifestación de alteraciones socioemocionales. En los trastornos mixtos comprensivos-expresivos, una dificultad de procesamiento general podría justificar, al menos parcialmente, esta asociación. A su vez, es probable que limitaciones en el desarrollo de la cognición social contribuyan a explicar, en cierta medida, las dificultades de las personas con trastornos pragmáticos, si bien no existe una consistencia en la investigación en este sentido (AU)

Introduction. The rate of comorbidity between language disorders and behavioural, emotional and social problems is high. Aim. To review the literature on the social and emotional difficulties of children with specific language impairment from a developmental perspective. Development. In early childhood, findings concerning this kind of difficulties in children with delayed language development are not conclusive. Yet, as of the period of preschool education, research points to a greater occurrence of difficulties in the social and emotional area. The longitudinal studies that have made it possible to determine the psychosocial adjustment of teenagers suggest a greater risk of presenting experiences involving victimisation and bullying or of developing anxiety and depression in the long term, although some studies offer a more promising scenario. Conclusions. Disorders involving comprehension and the pragmatic component of language are an important predictor in the manifestation of socio-emotional alterations. In mixed comprehension-expression disorders, general difficulty in processing could at least partially account for this association. In turn, these limitations in the development of social cognition are likely to help explain, at least up to a point, the difficulties experienced by persons with pragmatic disorders, although the research conducted to date is not consistent in this sense (AU)

Association of dopamine gene variants, emotion dysregulation and ADHD in autism spectrum disorder.

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the association of dopaminergic gene variants with emotion dysregulation (EMD) and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Three dopamine transporter gene (SLC6A3/DAT1) polymorphisms (intron8 5/6 VNTR, 3'-UTR 9/10 VNTR, rs27072 in the 3'-UTR) and one dopamine D2 receptor gene (DRD2) variant (rs2283265) were selected for genotyping based on à priori evidence of regulatory activity or, in the case of DAT1 9/10 VNTR, commonly reported associations with ADHD. A sample of 110 children with ASD was assessed with a rigorously validated DSM-IV-referenced rating scale. Global EMD severity (parents' ratings) was associated with DAT1 intron8 (ηp(2)=.063) and rs2283265 (ηp(2)=.044). Findings for DAT1 intron8 were also significant for two EMD subscales, generalized anxiety (ηp(2)=.065) and depression (ηp(2)=.059), and for DRD2 rs2283265, depression (ηp(2)=.053). DRD2 rs2283265 was associated with teachers' global ratings of ADHD (ηp(2)=.052). DAT1 intron8 was associated with parent-rated hyperactivity (ηp(2)=.045) and both DAT1 9/10 VNTR (ηp(2)=.105) and DRD2 rs2283265 (ηp(2)=.069) were associated with teacher-rated inattention. These findings suggest that dopaminergic gene polymorphisms may modulate EMD and ADHD symptoms in children with ASD but require replication with larger independent samples.

Genetic modulation of the response bias towards facial displays of anger and happiness.

BACKGROUND: Investigating genetic modulation of emotion processing may contribute to the understanding of heritable mechanisms of emotional disorders. The aim of the present study was to test the effects of catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) val158met and serotonin-transporter-linked promoter region (5-HTTLPR) polymorphisms on facial emotion processing in healthy individuals. METHODS: Two hundred and seventy five (167 female) participants were asked to complete a computerized facial affect recognition task, which involved four experimental conditions, each containing one type of emotional face (fearful, angry, sad or happy) intermixed with neutral faces. Participants were asked to indicate whether the face displayed an emotion or was neutral. The COMT-val158met and 5-HTTLPR polymorphisms were genotyped. RESULTS: Met homozygotes (COMT) showed a stronger bias to perceive neutral faces as expressions of anger, compared with val homozygotes. However, the S-homozygotes (5-HTTLPR) showed a reduced bias to perceive neutral faces as expressions of happiness, compared to L-homozygotes. No interaction between 5-HTTLPR and COMT was found. CONCLUSIONS: These results add to the knowledge of individual differences in social cognition that are modulated via serotonergic and dopaminergic systems. This potentially could contribute to the understanding of the mechanisms of susceptibility to emotional disorders.