Allelic variants of the tryptophan hydroxylase (A218C) and serotonin 1B receptor (A-161T) and personality traits.

Human personality traits have a considerable hereditary component, and central serotonergic activity is implicated in the personality factors of the Tridimensional Personality Questionnaire (TPQ). Our population-based association study tested the hypothesis that the tryptophan hydroxylase (TPH) A218C and serotonin 1B receptor (HTR1B) A-161T polymorphisms were associated with TPQ personality trait scores in a sample population of 209 young healthy Chinese. No significant differences were demonstrated comparing scores of subjects bearing different TPH or HTR1B genotypes; however, a trend for difference in the novelty seeking score comparing TPH genotype groups was determined for the male population. Our negative findings suggest that the TPH A218C and HTR1B polymorphisms do not play major roles in the determination of TPQ personality traits. Copyright 2003 S. Karger AG, Basel