Polymorphisms in the serotonin transporter gene and their relationship to two temperamental traits measured by the formal characteristics of behavior-temperament inventory: activity and emotional reactivity.

Results obtained in earlier studies indicate that 5-HTT gene polymorphisms may have a certain impact on individual differences with respect to temperamental traits. The aim of our study was to determine whether the occurrence of various alleles of the serotonin transporter gene is related to the variability of two temperamental traits postulated in the Regulative Theory of Temperament (RTT)--activity and emotional reactivity. We have demonstrated that the 5-HTTLPR polymorphism is associated with one of the RTT temperamental traits--activity. Neither the relationship between the regulatory region polymorphism and emotional reactivity nor the association between the intron 2 VNTR polymorphism and the temperamental traits under study has been confirmed. Copyright (c) 2005 S. Karger AG, Basel.