Preliminary Evidence That CD38 Moderates the Association of Neuroticism on Amygdala-Subgenual Cingulate Connectivity

Oxytocin (OT) is regarded as an extremely important prosocial neuropeptide that dramatically affects the establishment of social connections from infancy to adulthood. OT effects on the psychoemotional state are pretty individual and may be dependent on age, gender, ethnocultural factors, social environment, the presence of stress factors, and features of personality. The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) is a brief psychopathological screening tool and is recommended for the detection and classification of psychosocial problems in adolescents. The current field school-based study, conducted among urban Siberian adolescents (n = 298 aged 12–18) explored the relation of SDQ scales in relation to genotypes of CD38 gene that controls oxytocin release, rs3796863, and oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR), rs53576. The results of our study show that during the adolescence period, OT pathway high activity can cause some negative effects, such as emotional instability in young (aged 12–14) adolescent girls in the case of carriage of the rs3796863 A allele and emotional disturbances in older (aged 15–18) adolescent boys who are carriers of a GG variant of rs53576. Our results support the hypothesis of OT-mediated excessive social sensitivity which can lead to some age-sex depending psychosocial problems during adolescence.

Although there are numerous benefits to having a satisfying romantic relationship, maintaining high levels of relationship satisfaction is difficult. Many couples experience declines in relationship satisfaction in the early years of marriage, and such declines predict not only relationship dissolution but also poor mental and physical health. Several recent studies indicate that genetic variation on the CD38 gene (CD38), at the single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs3796863, is associated with cognitions and behaviors related to pair bonding; we thus leveraged longitudinal data from a sample of newlywed couples (N = 139 genotyped individuals; 71 couples) to examine whether rs3796863 is associated with relationship maintenance processes and, in turn, relationship satisfaction in the early years of marriage. Replicating and extending prior research, we found that individuals with the CC genotype (vs. AC/AA) of rs3796863 reported higher levels of gratitude, trust, and forgiveness and that trust mediated the association between rs3796863 and marital satisfaction. Moreover, the benefits conferred to CC individuals lasted over the first 3 years of marriage. To our knowledge, this is the first study to examine the link between variation in CD38 rs3796863 and marital functioning over time.

The Sniffin’ Sticks Olfactory Identification Test is a tool for measurement of olfactory performance developed in Germany and validated in several countries. This research aims to develop the Spanish version of the Sniffin’ Sticks Olfactory Identification Test and obtain normative values for the Spanish population. The parameters are free recall and subjective intensity of odorants are included. The influence of possible demographic covariates such as sex, age, smoking, or educational level are analyzed, and the items that best discriminate are studied. In addition, the internal structure validity of the blue and purple versions is studied as a parallel measure, and a cultural adaptation of the purple version is carried out. For this, three independent samples of normosmic healthy volunteers were studied. To obtain normative values, the sample was of 417 participants (18–89 years). For the internal structure validity study of both versions, the sample was 226 (18–70 years), and for familiarity of the purple version, the sample was 75 participants (21–79 years). Results indicated that men and women and smokers and non-smokers perform equally. However, differences were found as age progresses, being more pronounced after 60 years old in all three measurements of the identification test. This research also provides the items that best discriminate in the blue version and a cultural adaptation for the purple version. In conclusion, the Sniffin’ Sticks Odor Identification Test is a suitable tool for olfactory assessment in the Spanish population. The instrument has been expanded with two new scores, and normative data as a function of age are provided. Its parallel version also seems appropriate for testing, as items have been culturally adapted and evidence of internal structure validity for both versions is reported.