The Genetics Behind Emotional Sensitivity

    The article titled “Genetic Link to Emotional Sensitivity in Stressful Situations” sampled 171 students to test the correlation between oxytocin-related gene variants such as CD38 and emotional distress. It was found that students with the AA/AC genotypes reported higher emotional distress scores than those with the CC genotype. Females also scored higher with emotional distress and empathy than males did. This study concludes that A allele carriers are more vulnerable to emotional distress than C allele carriers. 

    I think being able to make a distinct correlation between the A allele for CD38 and high levels of emotional distress could be very beneficial. This connection could make it easier to determine if parents will pass down the A allele to children as a predetermination if the child will possibly be susceptible to thoughts of suicide or low mental health. It could also help individuals understand why they feel high levels of emotional distress and better determine what types of situations they can engage themselves in based on their genotypes.

Happy in marriage? Genetics may play a role

Researchers from Yale University studied genetic variants of oxytocin which affects social bonding. For this experiment, the researchers observed a group of 178 married couples. These couples ranged in age from 37-90 years old. The married couples took a survey that asked questions based on their marital satisfaction. The researchers also collected a saliva sample for genotyping. When just one partner had the GG genotype for OXTR rs53576, the oxytocin receptor variant, the couple reported an increase in marital satisfaction. People with the GG genotype also had less anxious attachment which contributed to their marital satisfaction as well. Researchers have determined that the GG genotype accounted for about 4% of marital satisfaction in couples. Researchers still find this percentage significant when comparing the rest of the other genetic and environmental factors that couples have to endure.  

I have heard about oxytocin before and how it plays a role in attraction in relationships. However, I have not heard about how oxytocin affects the overall marital satisfaction in couples. I did not know that scientists could test for the “attraction” of couples. I thought that marriages were mostly based on psychological reasons. I think that it would be interesting to test for different hormones in divorced couples to learn why certain people are not a good “fit” for each other. In a few years, I think that researchers will be able to pick partners for each other based on genotypic testing.