Variation in the X-linked EFHC2 gene is associated with social cognitive abilities in males

Females outperform males on many social cognitive tasks. X-linked genes may contribute to this sex difference. Males possess one X chromosome, while females possess two X chromosomes. Functional variations in X-linked genes are therefore likely to impact more on males than females. Previous studies...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:PloS one 2015-06, Vol.10 (6), p.e0131604-e0131604
Main Authors: Startin, Carla M, Fiorentini, Chiara, de Haan, Michelle, Skuse, David H
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Alleles
Autism
Calcium-Binding Proteins - genetics
Childrens health
Chromosome Mapping
Chromosomes
Cognition
Cognition & reasoning
Cognitive ability
Cognitive tasks
Epilepsy
Face recognition
Facial Recognition
Fear
Females
Gender differences
Gene expression
Gene polymorphism
Genes
Genes, X-Linked
Genetic aspects
Genetic Variation
Humans
Influence
Male
Males
Mutation
Neuropsychological Tests
Pattern recognition
Polymorphism
Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide
Psychometrics
Sex differences
Single nucleotide polymorphisms
Single-nucleotide polymorphism
Social Skills
Turner's syndrome
X chromosomes
Young Adult
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Summary:Females outperform males on many social cognitive tasks. X-linked genes may contribute to this sex difference. Males possess one X chromosome, while females possess two X chromosomes. Functional variations in X-linked genes are therefore likely to impact more on males than females. Previous studies of X-monosomic women with Turner syndrome suggest a genetic association with facial fear recognition abilities at Xp11.3, specifically at a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP rs7055196) within the EFHC2 gene. Based on a strong hypothesis, we investigated an association between variation at SNP rs7055196 and facial fear recognition and theory of mind abilities in males. As predicted, males possessing the G allele had significantly poorer facial fear detection accuracy and theory of mind abilities than males possessing the A allele (with SNP variant accounting for up to 4.6% of variance). Variation in the X-linked EFHC2 gene at SNP rs7055196 is therefore associated with social cognitive abilities in males.
ISSN:1932-6203
1932-6203
DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0131604