The Genetics of Loneliness: Linking Evolutionary Theory to Genome-Wide Genetics, Epigenetics, and Social Science

被引:73
作者
Goossens, Luc [1 ]
van Roekel, Eeske [2 ]
Verhagen, Maaike [3 ]
Cacioppo, John T. [4 ,5 ]
Cacioppo, Stephanie [6 ,7 ]
Maes, Marlies [1 ]
Boomsma, Dorret I. [8 ]
机构
[1] KU Leuven Univ Leuven, Sch Psychol & Child & Adolescent Dev, B-3000 Louvain, Belgium
[2] Univ Groningen, Univ Med Ctr Groningen, NL-9700 AB Groningen, Netherlands
[3] Radboud Univ Nijmegen, Behav Sci Inst, NL-6525 ED Nijmegen, Netherlands
[4] Univ Chicago, Ctr Cognit & Social Neurosci, Chicago, IL 60637 USA
[5] Univ Chicago, Dept Psychol, Chicago, IL 60637 USA
[6] Univ Chicago, Dept Psychiat & Behav Neurosci, Chicago, IL 60637 USA
[7] Univ Chicago, Ctr Cognit & Social Neurosci, High Performance Elect Neuroimaging Lab, Chicago, IL 60637 USA
[8] Vrije Univ Amsterdam, Dept Biol Psychol, Amsterdam, Netherlands
关键词
behavioral genetics; evolutionary psychology; environment; POLYGENIC RISK SCORES; RECEPTOR GENE; ENVIRONMENTAL CONTRIBUTIONS; PSYCHIATRIC-ILLNESS; PARENTAL SUPPORT; ASSOCIATION; POLYMORPHISM; EXPRESSION; DEPRESSION; OXYTOCIN;
D O I
10.1177/1745691614564878
中图分类号
B84 [心理学];
学科分类号
04 ; 0402 ;
摘要
As a complex trait, loneliness is likely to be influenced by the interplay of numerous genetic and environmental factors. Studies in behavioral genetics indicate that loneliness has a sizable degree of heritability. Candidate-gene and gene-expression studies have pointed to several genes related to neurotransmitters and the immune system. The notion that these genes are related to loneliness is compatible with the basic tenets of the evolutionary theory of loneliness. Research on gene-environment interactions indicates that social-environmental factors (e.g., low social support) may have a more pronounced effect and lead to higher levels of loneliness if individuals carry the sensitive variant of these candidate genes. Currently, there is no extant research on loneliness based on genome-wide association studies, gene-environment-interaction studies, or studies in epigenetics. Such studies would allow researchers to identify networks of genes that contribute to loneliness. The contribution of genetics to loneliness research will become stronger when genome-wide genetics and epigenetics are integrated and used along with well-established methods in psychology to analyze the complex process of gene-environment interplay.
引用
收藏
页码:213 / 226
页数:14
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