No association between the serotonin transporter gene regulatory region polymorphism and the tridimensional personality questionnaire (TPQ) temperament of harm avoidance

A functional polymorphism in the upstream regulatory region of the serotonin transporter gene has been recently reported to be associated with anxiety-related traits assessed by the NEO-PI-R. Individuals both hetero- and homozygous for the short form of a highly repetitive regulatory element in this gene have significantly higher neuroticism scores. We have attempted to replicate these findings in a normal cohort of 120 individuals, whom we have previously examined for association between personality dimensions and other serotonergic and dopaminergic receptor polymorphisms. The Tridimensional Personality Questionnaire (TPQ) was used to assess personality dimensions in this cohort. No association was observed in the present study between individuals grouped by the long and short form of the transporter gene and any of the personality dimensions measured by the TPQ including Harm Avoidance, which incorporates many aspects of anxiety and is correlated with NEO-PI-R Neuroticism.