Functional Polymorphisms in Oxytocin and Dopamine Pathway Genes and the Development of Dispositional Compassion Over Time: The Young Finns Study

Too good for this world: moral bioenhancement and the ethics of making moral misfits

Persson and Savulescu argue that moral bioenhancement is not only morally permissible; in some cases, it is morally obligatory. In this article, I introduce a new reason to worry about moral enhancement. I adapt the disability concept of misfit to show how moral enhancement could cause extreme moral disempowerment to those enhanced, which would result in moral injury. I argue that any safety framework that guides the development of moral bioenhancement must be sensitive to the problem of moral misfitting. I present the best case for moral bioenhancement before turning to my own worry concerning the development of moral bioenhancement and its practical implications. Finally, I consider a series of objections and responses.

The relationship of trait-like compassion with epigenetic aging: The population-based prospective Young Finns Study

Introduction

Helping others within and beyond the family has been related to living a healthy and long life. Compassion is a prosocial personality trait characterized by concern for another person who is suffering and the motivation to help. The current study examines whether epigenetic aging is a potential biological mechanism that explains the link between prosociality and longevity.

Methods

We used data from the Young Finns Study that follows six birth-cohorts from age 3-18 to 19-49. Trait-like compassion for others was measured with the Temperament and Character Inventory in the years 1997 and 2001. Epigenetic age acceleration and telomere length were measured with five DNA methylation (DNAm) indicators (DNAmAgeHorvath, IEAA_Hannum, EEAA_Hannum, DNAmPhenoAge, and DNAmTL) based on blood drawn in 2011. We controlled for sex, socioeconomic status in childhood and adulthood, and body-mass index.

Results and discussion

An association between higher compassion in 1997 and a less accelerated DNAmPhenoAge, which builds on previous work on phenotypic aging, approached statistical significance in a sex-adjusted model (n = 1,030; b = -0.34; p = 0.050). Compassion in 1997 predicted less accelerated epigenetic aging over and above the control variables (n = 843; b = -0.47; p = 0.016). There was no relationship between compassion in 2001 (n = 1108/910) and any of the other four studied epigenetic aging indicators. High compassion for others might indeed influence whether an individual's biological age is lower than their chronological age. The conducted robustness checks partially support this conclusion, yet cannot rule out that there might be a broader prosocial trait behind the findings. The observed associations are interesting but should be interpreted as weak requiring replication.

Genetic differential susceptibility to the parent-child relationship quality and the life span development of compassion

The development of compassion for others might be influenced by the social experiences made during childhood and has a genetic component. No research has yet investigated whether the parent-child relationship quality interacts with genetic variation in the oxytocin and dopamine systems in predicting compassion over the life span. In the prospective Young Finns Study (N = 2099, 43.9% men), we examined the interaction between mother-reported emotional warmth and intolerance toward their child assessed in 1980 (age of participants, 3-18 years) and two established genetic risk scores for oxytocin levels and dopamine signaling activity. Dispositional compassion for others was measured with the Temperament and Character Inventory 1997, 2001, and 2012 (age of participants, 20-50 years). We found a gene-environment interaction (p = .031) that remained marginally significant after adjustment for multiple testing. In line with the differential susceptibility hypothesis, only participants who carry alleles associated with low dopamine signaling activity had higher levels of compassion when growing up with emotionally warm parents, whereas they had lower levels of compassion when their parents were emotionally cold. Children's genetic variability in the dopamine system might result in plasticity to early environmental influences that have a long-lasting effect on the development of compassion. However, our findings need replication.

Oxytocin Pathway Gene (CD38, OXTR) Variants Are Not Related to Psychosocial Characteristics Defined by Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire in Adolescents: A Field School-Based Study

Background: CD38 is a transmembrane glycoprotein that regulates oxytocin (OT) production and influences social interactions. The oxytocin receptor (OXTR) has been studied intensively regarding its association with human psychosocial functions. Many studies have demonstrated a link between CD38 rs3796863 and OXTR rs53576 polymorphic regions and psychosocial characteristics as well as various psychiatric disorders in adolescents. Some studies, however, have reported null findings. Methods: The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) is a brief psychopathologic screening tool recommended for detecting psychosocial problems and psychiatric disorders in adolescents. The current field school-based study, conducted among urban Siberian adolescents (n = 298 aged 12-18), explored the SDQ scales in relation to polymorphisms of the CD38 and the OXTR genes (rs3796863 and rs53576, respectively). Results: None of the studied genotypes were associated with the SDQ results for the complete sample with presumed statistical power as 0.80 to detect a medium-size effect (Cramer's V = 0.3) at α = 0.0083. Post-hoc analysis in subgroups showed that OT pathway high activity may cause some negative consequences, such as emotional instability in older (aged 15-18) adolescent boys who are carriers of the rs53576 GG variant. Conclusion: Variations at the CD38 rs3796863 and OXTR rs53576 loci were not associated with psychosocial characteristics of adolescents assessed with the SDQ. In studies with a similar design, we recommend replication with larger samples and greater power to detect small effects, especially in age-sex subgroups of adolescents.