The Interaction of the Oxytocin Receptor Gene and Child Abuse Subtypes on Social Cognition in Euthymic Patients with Bipolar Disorder Type I

Overview

Journal Front Psychiatry

Specialty Psychiatry

Date 2023 May 4

PMID 37139326

Authors

Ulises Rios

Javier Moran

Jimena Hermosilla

Rene Gonzalez

Paulina Munoz

Marcelo Arancibia

Luisa Herrera

Juan Pablo Jimenez

Pablo R Moya

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Background: Most studies on cognitive impairment in bipolar disorder have neglected the role of early stress, despite the high frequency of childhood maltreatment in this clinical group. The aim of this study was to establish a connection between a history of emotional, physical, and sexual abuse in childhood and social cognition (SC) in patients with bipolar disorder type I (BD-I) in euthymia, and to test a possible moderating effect of the single nucleotide polymorphism in the oxytocin receptor gene ().

Methods: One hundred and one participants were included in this study. History of child abuse was evaluated using the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire-Short Form. Cognitive functioning was appraised using The Awareness of Social Inference Test (social cognition). The interaction effect between the independent variables (AA/AG and GG) and the absence or presence of any one type of child maltreatment or a combination of types was analyzed using a generalized linear model regression.

Results: BD-I patients who had been victims of physical and emotional abuse in childhood and were carriers of the GG genotype at displayed greater SC alterations, specifically in emotion recognition.

Discussion: This gene-environment interaction finding suggests a differential susceptibility model of a genetic variants that can be plausibly associated with SC functioning and might help to identify at-risk clinical subgroups within a diagnostic category. Future research aimed at testing the interlevel impact of early stress constitutes an ethical-clinical duty given the high rates of childhood maltreatment reported in BD-I patients.

Citing Articles

Influence of Genetic Polymorphisms on Cognitive Function According to Dietary Exposure to Bisphenols in a Sample of Spanish Schoolchildren.

Ramirez V, Gonzalez-Palacios P, Gonzalez-Domenech P, Jaimez-Perez S, Baca M, Rodrigo L Nutrients. 2024; 16(16).

PMID: 39203776 PMC: 11357571. DOI: 10.3390/nu16162639.

Association of verbal and non-verbal theory of mind abilities with non-coding variants of OXTR in youth with autism spectrum disorder and typically developing individuals: a case-control study.

Ghamari R, Tahmaseb M, Sarabi-Jamab A, Etesami S, Mohammadzadeh A, Alizadeh F BMC Psychiatry. 2024; 24(1):30.

PMID: 38191308 PMC: 10773038. DOI: 10.1186/s12888-023-05461-w.

References

Dannlowski U, Kugel H, Grotegerd D, Redlich R, Opel N, Dohm K . Disadvantage of Social Sensitivity: Interaction of Oxytocin Receptor Genotype and Child Maltreatment on Brain Structure. Biol Psychiatry. 2016; 80(5):398-405. DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2015.12.010. View

McQuaid R, McInnis O, Stead J, Matheson K, Anisman H . A paradoxical association of an oxytocin receptor gene polymorphism: early-life adversity and vulnerability to depression. Front Neurosci. 2013; 7:128. PMC: 3721019. DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2013.00128. View

Gibb B, Chelminski I, Zimmerman M . Childhood emotional, physical, and sexual abuse, and diagnoses of depressive and anxiety disorders in adult psychiatric outpatients. Depress Anxiety. 2006; 24(4):256-63. DOI: 10.1002/da.20238. View

Bradley B, Westen D, Mercer K, Binder E, Jovanovic T, Crain D . Association between childhood maltreatment and adult emotional dysregulation in a low-income, urban, African American sample: moderation by oxytocin receptor gene. Dev Psychopathol. 2013; 23(2):439-52. PMC: 4363139. DOI: 10.1017/S0954579411000162. View

Sole B, Jimenez E, Torrent C, Reinares M, Bonnin C, Torres I . Cognitive Impairment in Bipolar Disorder: Treatment and Prevention Strategies. Int J Neuropsychopharmacol. 2017; 20(8):670-680. PMC: 5570032. DOI: 10.1093/ijnp/pyx032. View

Hiraoka D, Nomura M . Maternal childhood adversity, OXTR genotype and cognitive load impact on perceptual and behavioral responses to infant crying. Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2019; 104:195-202. DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2019.03.005. View

Cochran D, Fallon D, Hill M, Frazier J . The role of oxytocin in psychiatric disorders: a review of biological and therapeutic research findings. Harv Rev Psychiatry. 2014; 21(5):219-47. PMC: 4120070. DOI: 10.1097/HRP.0b013e3182a75b7d. View

Shahrestani S, Kemp A, Guastella A . The impact of a single administration of intranasal oxytocin on the recognition of basic emotions in humans: a meta-analysis. Neuropsychopharmacology. 2013; 38(10):1929-36. PMC: 3746698. DOI: 10.1038/npp.2013.86. View

Savitz J, van der Merwe L, Stein D, Solms M, Ramesar R . Genotype and childhood sexual trauma moderate neurocognitive performance: a possible role for brain-derived neurotrophic factor and apolipoprotein E variants. Biol Psychiatry. 2007; 62(5):391-9. DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2006.10.017. View

10.

Nicol K, Pope M, Hall J . Facial emotion recognition in borderline personality: an association, with childhood experience. Psychiatry Res. 2014; 218(1-2):256-8. DOI: 10.1016/j.psychres.2014.04.017. View

11.

Kogan A, Saslow L, Impett E, Oveis C, Keltner D, Rodrigues Saturn S . Thin-slicing study of the oxytocin receptor (OXTR) gene and the evaluation and expression of the prosocial disposition. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2011; 108(48):19189-92. PMC: 3228468. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1112658108. View

12.

Meyer-Lindenberg A, Weinberger D . Intermediate phenotypes and genetic mechanisms of psychiatric disorders. Nat Rev Neurosci. 2006; 7(10):818-27. DOI: 10.1038/nrn1993. View

13.

Sheridan M, Fox N, Zeanah C, McLaughlin K, Nelson 3rd C . Variation in neural development as a result of exposure to institutionalization early in childhood. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2012; 109(32):12927-32. PMC: 3420193. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1200041109. View

14.

Gong P, Fan H, Liu J, Yang X, Zhang K, Zhou X . Revisiting the impact of OXTR rs53576 on empathy: A population-based study and a meta-analysis. Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2017; 80:131-136. DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2017.03.005. View

15.

Varo C, Sole B, Jimenez E, Bonnin C, Torrent C, Valls E . Identifying social cognition subgroups in euthymic patients with bipolar disorder: a cluster analytical approach. Psychol Med. 2020; 52(1):159-168. DOI: 10.1017/S0033291720001865. View

16.

Thompson S, Hammen C, Starr L, Najman J . Oxytocin receptor gene polymorphism (rs53576) moderates the intergenerational transmission of depression. Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2014; 43:11-9. PMC: 3979470. DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2014.01.012. View

17.

Davis M, Horan W, Nurmi E, Rizzo S, Li W, Sugar C . Associations between oxytocin receptor genotypes and social cognitive performance in individuals with schizophrenia. Schizophr Res. 2014; 159(2-3):353-7. PMC: 4254299. DOI: 10.1016/j.schres.2014.09.006. View

18.

McDonald S, Flanagan S, Rollins J, Kinch J . TASIT: A new clinical tool for assessing social perception after traumatic brain injury. J Head Trauma Rehabil. 2003; 18(3):219-38. DOI: 10.1097/00001199-200305000-00001. View

19.

Malhi G, Das P, Outhred T, Dobson-Stone C, Bell E, Gessler D . Interactions of OXTR rs53576 and emotional trauma on hippocampal volumes and perceived social support in adolescent girls. Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2020; 115:104635. DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2020.104635. View

20.

Danese A, McEwen B . Adverse childhood experiences, allostasis, allostatic load, and age-related disease. Physiol Behav. 2011; 106(1):29-39. DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2011.08.019. View