Empathy - the ability to understand and share the feelings of another, has been associated with genetic polymorphisms1,2. Evidence indicates that genetic variants might be responsible for 34% to 47% of the variance of empathy3
Neurogenetic studies have investigated the source of the genetic variability of empathy by examining the effect of specific genetic variants on self-reported empathy1 and intermediate processes in the brain, such as emotion perception.2 So far, the oxytocin receptor (OXTR) gene is probably the most studied gene with respect to social cognition and social behaviours. Single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) of the OXTR genes have been associated with social cognition in adults1,2, children as well as in schizophrenic individuals4 Amongst these findings, only two SNPs of the OXTR gene, rs53576 and rs2254298, have been associated both with self-reported empathy and functional neuroimaging tasks of emotion perception.2 Additionally, Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) Val66Met variant has also been associated with functional neuroimaging tasks of emotion perception in healthy5 and anxious individuals. Self reported empathy was assessed using an empathy questionnaire: The Interpersonal Reactivity Index. This is a 28-item self-reported scale assessing empathy comprising four subscales: Perspective Taking, Empathic Concern, Fantasy and Personal Distress.
The fact that BDNF Val66Met is associated with empathy also opens new research avenues for the study of psychopathologies involving social-cognitive deficits, such as autism or schizophrenia.
Related to:
OXTR, BDNF