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World J Psychiatr. Mar 22, 2015; 5(1): 112-117
Published online Mar 22, 2015. doi: 10.5498/wjp.v5.i1.112
Review of the genetic basis of emotion dysregulation in children and adolescents
Drew Barzman, Chelsea Geise, Ping-I Lin
Drew Barzman, Chelsea Geise, Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH 45229-3039, United States
Drew Barzman, Ping-I Lin, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH 45229-3039, United States
Ping-I Lin, Division of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH 45229-3039, United States
Author contributions: Barzman D and Lin PI designed research; Geise C performed the literature review research; Geise C and Lin PI wrote the paper.
Supported by Oxley Foundation (Lin PI and Barzman D); Center for Clinical and Translational Science and Training (Barzman D); and American Physician Institute (Geise C).
Conflict-of-interest: The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: Ping-I Lin, MD, PhD, Division of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, 3333 Burnet Avenue, Cincinnati, OH 45229-3039, United States. pingi.lin@gmail.com
Telephone: +1-513-6363430 Fax: +1-513- 8037509
Received: August 26, 2014
Peer-review started: August 26, 2014
First decision: September 16, 2014
Revised: November 21, 2014
Accepted: February 4, 2015
Article in press: February 9, 2015
Published online: March 22, 2015
Abstract

Previous evidence suggests that emotion dysregulation may have different biological correlates between adults and children/adolescents. Although the role of genetic factors has been extensively studied in adult-onset emotion dysregulation, the genetic basis for pediatric-onset emotion dysregulation remains elusive. The current review article presents a summary of previous studies that have suggested a few genetic variants associated with pediatric emotion dysregulation. Among these candidate loci, many prior studies have been focused on serotonin transporter promoter gene polymorphism 5-HTTLPR. Certain alleles of the 5-HTTLPR gene polymorphism have been found to be associated with traits associated with emotion dysregulation, such as aggression, affect reactivity, and insecure attachment. Additionally, genetic variants involving dopamine and neurophysiological biomarkers like the COMT Val158Met (rs460) and dopamine receptor D2/ ankyrin repeat and kinase domain containing one polymorphisms may play a role in emotion dysregulation. Inconsistent findings have been noted, possibly due to the heterogeneity in study designs and characteristics of different populations. Further research on the role of genetic predetermination of emotion dysregulation in children and adolescents is warranted.

Keywords: Gene, Emotion regulation, Adolescents, Children, 5-HTTLPR polymorphism

Core tip: Genetic correlates involved in emotion dysregulation in children and adolescents remain rather understudied compared to adult populations, despite the strong impact emotion dysregulation can have on an individual and societal functioning. This paper covers the key genetic variants involved in pediatric emotion dysregulation, with a special emphasis on the serotonin transporter promoter gene polymorphism 5-HTTLPR typically associated with aggression, affect reactivity, and emotion dysregulation. This review places emphasis on the necessity for further research in this field of study in order to better understand biological mechanisms underlying emotion dysregulation in children and adolescents, and also highlight current avenues of study worthy of further investigation.