Your genes may influence how sensitive you are to emotional information, according to a new research.
The study from the University of British Columbia found that carriers of a certain genetic variation perceived positive and negative images more vividly, and had heightened activity in certain brain regions.
"For people with this gene variation, the emotionally relevant things in the world stand out much more," said lead author Rebecca Todd, a professor in UBC's Department of Psychology.
The gene in question is ADRA2b, which influences the neurotransmitter norepinephrine, Todd said.
Previous research by Todd found that carriers of a deletion variant of this gene showed greater attention to negative words.
Her latest research is the first to use brain imaging to find out how the gene affects how vividly people perceive the world around them.
"We thought, from our previous research, that people with the deletion variant would probably show this emotionally enhanced vividness, and they did more than we would even have predicted," said Todd.
She scanned the brains of 39 participants, 21 of whom were carriers of the genetic variation.
Carriers of the gene variation showed significantly more activity in a region of the brain responsible for regulating emotions and evaluating both pleasure and threat.
Todd believes this may help explain why some people are more susceptible to PTSD and intrusive memories following trauma.
The study participants were asked to estimate the amount of 'noise', or pixelation, applied to images that had either positive, negative or neutral emotional content.
Compared to non-carriers, carriers of the ADRA2b deletion variant gene estimated lower levels of noise on positive and negative images, relative to neutral images, indicating emotionally enhanced vividness, or EEV.
Carriers of the deletion variation also showed significantly more brain activity reflecting EEV in key regions of the brain sensitive to emotional relevance.
