PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Brian Boutwell
AU  - David Hinds
AU  - the 23andMe Research Team
AU  - Jorim Tielbeek
AU  - Ken K. Ong
AU  - Felix R. Day
AU  - John R.B. Perry
TI  - Replication and characterization of <em>CADM2</em> and <em>MSRA</em> genes on human behavior
AID  - 10.1101/110395
DP  - 2017 Jan 01
TA  - bioRxiv
PG  - 110395
4099  - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2017/02/21/110395.short
4100  - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2017/02/21/110395.full
AB  - Progress identifying the genetic determinants of personality has historically been slow, with candidate gene studies and small-scale genome-wide association studies yielding few reproducible results. In the UK Biobank study, genetic variants in CADM2 and MSRA were recently shown to influence risk taking behavior and irritability respectively, representing some of the first genomic loci to be associated with aspects of personality. We extend this observation by performing a personality “phenome-scan” across 16 traits in up to 140,487 participants from 23andMe for these two genes. Heritability estimates for these traits ranged from 5-19%, with both CADM2 and MSRA demonstrating significant effects on multiple personality types. These associations covered all aspects of the big five personality domains, including specific facet traits such as compliance, altruism, anxiety and activity / energy. This study both confirms and extends the original observations, highlighting the role of genetics in aspects of mental health and behavior.