Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 Feb;71(2):252-261.
doi: 10.1007/s12031-020-01644-2. Epub 2020 Jun 30.

Influence of Two Single-Nucleotide Polymorphisms of the Oxytocin Receptor Gene (OXTR) on Empathy: the Mediation Role of a Primary Emotion, CARE

Jin Liu  1 , Siyuan Shang  2   3 , Meng Pei  1 , Yanjie Su  4
Affiliations

Influence of Two Single-Nucleotide Polymorphisms of the Oxytocin Receptor Gene (OXTR) on Empathy: the Mediation Role of a Primary Emotion, CARE

Jin Liu et al. J Mol Neurosci. 2021 Feb.

Abstract

To feel other's pain would elicit empathy. Some theorists hypothesized that observing other's pain may activate the primary emotion of maternal care instinct, which may function as a precursor of empathy. The maternal care instinct and empathy share the same genetic background and neuroendocrine underpinnings. An extensive body of research has shown that maternal behaviors relate to the oxytocinergic system, which has a strong influence on empathy. These studies suggest that the maternal care instinct may mediate the effect of oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR) on empathy. To provide evidence for this mediation, we used the subscale of CARE in Affective Neuroscience Personality Scales (ANPS) to measure the maternal care instinct and tested two OXTR single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), rs53576 and rs13316193, in 880 high school participants (588 females, 292 males; Mage = 16.51 years old, SD = 0.65). Results showed that the genotype of rs13316193 was indirectly associated with empathy via CARE, suggesting a mediating role of CARE in the pathway from OXTR to empathy. These findings may contribute to an understanding of how empathy emerges when one witnesses another person in pain.

Keywords: CARE; Empathy; Mediation; Oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR); Primary emotions.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Bailen NH, Green LM, Thompson RJ (2019) Understanding emotion in adolescents: a review of emotional frequency, intensity, instability, and clarity. Emot Rev 11(1):63–73. https://doi.org/10.1177/1754073918768878 - DOI
    1. Bakermans-Kranenburg MJ, IJzendoorn MH (2008) Oxytocin receptor (OXTR) and serotonin transporter (5-HTT) genes associated with observed parenting. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 3(2):128–134. https://doi.org/10.1093/scan/nsn004 - DOI - PubMed - PMC
    1. Bartels A, Zeki S (2004) The neural correlates of maternal and romantic love. NeuroImage 21:1155–1166. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2003.11.003 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Burkett JP, Andari E, Johnson ZV, Curry DC, Waal FBM, Young LJ (2016) Oxytocin-dependent consolation behavior in rodents. Science 351(6271):375–378. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aac4785 - DOI - PubMed - PMC
    1. Carter CS (1998) Neuroendocrine perspectives on social attachment and love. Psychoneuroendocrino 23:779–818. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0306-4530(98)00055-9 - DOI

LinkOut - more resources