Increased parasympathetic activity and ability to generate positive emotion: The influence of the BDNF Val66Met polymorphism on emotion flexibility

Motivation and Emotion volume 42, pages586–601(2018)Cite this article

Abstract

Cross-species behavioral research suggests that a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) gene (rs6265, Val66Met), influences behavioral inflexibility. This SNP has not yet been linked to variability in emotion-related behaviors, despite broader evidence suggesting an association may be present. This investigation explored the role of the BDNF Val66Met polymorphism in emotion response behaviors measured during a lab-based emotional provocation. Specifically, the influence of BDNF Val66Met in emotion flexibility was explored in a sample of healthy adults (N = 120), emotion responses were recorded during the emotional provocation on multiple dimensions, in response to emotionally-evocative videos of negative then positive valence. These results suggest that Met carriers exhibit decreased parasympathetic responding, and reduced ability to generate positive emotion, relative to Val homozygotes. These findings are the first to suggest an association between the Met allele and a pattern of responding indicative of emotion inflexibility that might afford greater risk for psychopathology.

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Fig. 1

Notes

  1. 1.

    Evidence suggests that facial coding by relatively naïve coders may be as valid as highly trained coders (e.g., Dondi et al. 2007).

  2. 2.

    Note regarding missing data for this study: pairwise deletion was utilized for missing data and resulted in deletion of data from a total of n = 27 participants according to the following. ECG data was lost for n = 21 participants due to equipment malfunction, n = 4 of these participants were also missing EDA data. EDA data was lost for an additional n = 3 participants due to equipment malfunction, and EDA data for n = 2 participants was lost due to naturally occurring skin conductance (see below footnote). Facial behavior data was lost for n = 5 research participants. For n = 4 participants, video recording was unsuccessful due to camera software malfunction, and n = 1 participant requested deletion of their video data. Two of the participants with missing facial behavior data were also dropped from ECG or EDA analyses.}

  3. 3.

    Notably, due to individual skin conductance variation within the general population, some people naturally show irregular or low skin conductance (termed “nonresponders”) (Dawson et al. 2007). When such irregularities were discovered during data collection for the present study, the research investigator attempted to adjust the electrodes and massage fingers of the participant in order to better collect the EDA data. Adjustments were unsuccessful for n = 2 participants, resulting in lack of a detectable signal.

  4. 4.

    As per Benjamini and Hochberg (1995), unadjusted p values were ranked by hypothesis. Adjusted p values were then calculated using the following formula: \(p(j) \le \alpha \left( {\frac{j}{m}} \right)\), where α = .05, j = rank, and m = 3, the total number of hypothesis tests conducted. For the first hypothesis and exploratory analysis, rank order was as follows: emotional expression (1), autonomic activity (2), and emotional experience (3).

  5. 5.

    Adjusted p values were then calculated using the following formula: \(p(j) \le \alpha \left( {\frac{j}{m}} \right)\), where α = .05, j = rank, and m = 2, the total number of hypothesis tests conducted. For the second hypothesis, rank order was as follows: emotional expression (1), emotional experience (2).

  6. 6.

    Specifically, Val homozygotes showed higher RSA in response both excluded videos, as compared to Met carriers. Val homozygotes also showed an increase in reported negative emotion expression and negative emotion experience in response to the negative emotion context (The Champ) which then decreased as the context shifted to positive emotion (Between Two Ferns). Met carriers were observed to follow a similar pattern of negative emotion expression and negative emotion experience. Val homozygotes showed a decrease in positive emotion expression as the context shifted to negative (The Champ), followed by an increase in positive emotion expression in response to the positive emotion context (Between Two Ferns). Met carriers were observed to follow a more blunted pattern of responding, with a less pronounced decrease in positive emotion expression as the context shifted to negative (The Champ). Lastly, Val homozygotes and Met carriers were also shown to follow a similar pattern of positive emotion experience.

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Funding

Funding was provided by Institute for Clinical and Translational Research, Kent State University and The Applied Psychology Center, Department of Psychological Sciences.

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Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychological Sciences, Kent State University, 276 Kent Hall, Kent, OH, 44242-0001, USA

    Karin Maria Nylocks, Maeson S. Latsko, Aaron M. Jasnow & Karin G. Coifman

  2. Department of Cellular and Integrative Physiology, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, USA

    T. Lee Gilman

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  1. Karin Maria Nylocks
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  2. T. Lee Gilman
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Nylocks, K.M., Gilman, T.L., Latsko, M.S. et al. Increased parasympathetic activity and ability to generate positive emotion: The influence of the BDNF Val66Met polymorphism on emotion flexibility. Motiv Emot 42, 586–601 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11031-018-9679-1

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Keywords

  • Brain-derived neurotrophic factor
  • BDNF Val66Met
  • Parasympathetic activity
  • Emotion flexibility
  • Positive emotions