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Negative cognitive response to a sad mood induction: Associations with polymorphisms of the serotonin transporter (5-HTTLPR) gene |
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| Authors: | Christopher G. Beevers Walter D. Scott Chinatsu McGeary John E. McGeary |
| Affiliation: | 1. University of Texas , Austin, TX, USA beevers@psy.utexas.edu;3. University of Wyoming , Laramie, WY, USA;4. Providence Veterans Affairs Medical Center and Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies , Brown University , Providence, RI, USA |
| Abstract: | Increased negative thinking in response to sad mood states has been identified as a marker of depression risk. The present study examined whether polymorphisms of the serotonin transporter (5-HTTLPR) gene were associated with the tendency to endorse negative cognition after sad or neutral mood inductions in a healthy college student sample. Non-depressed participants were genotyped for the 5-HTTLPR and then viewed films designed to elicit a sad mood (n=30) or a neutral mood (n=23). Analyses indicated that individuals homozygous for the short 5-HTTLPR allele endorsed more negative cognition following a sad mood induction than individuals homozygous for the long 5-HTTLPR allele. Negative cognition did not vary as a function of 5-HTTLPR genetic status in the neutral mood condition. These preliminary results suggest that genetic variation of the serotonin transporter may contribute to depression vulnerability via a tendency to think more negatively in response to events that elicit sad mood. |
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