Substantial Heritability Underlies Fairness Norm Adaptation Capability and its Neural Basis

TY - JOUR

T1 - Substantial Heritability Underlies Fairness Norm Adaptation Capability and its Neural Basis

AU - Jin, Yuening

AU - Zheng, Dang

AU - Gu, Ruolei

AU - Fan, Qingchen

AU - Dietz, Martin

AU - Wang, Changshuo

AU - Li, Xinying

AU - Chen, Jie

AU - Hu, Yuanyuan

AU - Zhou, Yuan

PY - 2024/12/16

Y1 - 2024/12/16

N2 - The present research uncovers the shared genetic underpinnings of fairness norm adaptation capability, its neural correlates, and long-term mental health outcomes. One hundred and eighty-six twins are recruited and played as responders in the Ultimatum Game (UG) while undergoing fMRI scanning in their early adulthood (Study-1) and are measured on depressive symptoms eight years later (Study-2). With computational modeling, the process of norm adaptation is differentiated from that of fairness valuation in UG. The two processes both have moderate levels of heritability. The anterior insula has a significant phenotypic correlation, whereas the Supplementary Motor Area/Medial Frontal Gyrus (SMA/mSFG) shows both a significant phenotypic correlation and a shared genetic influence with the learning rate, an index for norm adaptation. The dopaminergic DRD2 polymorphisms correlate with both the learning rate and the SMA/mSFG encoding of prediction error, constituting of their common genetic basis. Regional gene expression analysis reveals the high expression of dopamine-related genes in the SMA/mSFG. Moreover, the learning rate can predict depressive symptom severity eight years later, with the DRD2 polymorphisms constituting their shared genetic basis. This suggests that heritability is a non-negligible driving force behind norm adaptation, which facilitates the learning of social norms in changing environments and preserves long-term mental health.

AB - The present research uncovers the shared genetic underpinnings of fairness norm adaptation capability, its neural correlates, and long-term mental health outcomes. One hundred and eighty-six twins are recruited and played as responders in the Ultimatum Game (UG) while undergoing fMRI scanning in their early adulthood (Study-1) and are measured on depressive symptoms eight years later (Study-2). With computational modeling, the process of norm adaptation is differentiated from that of fairness valuation in UG. The two processes both have moderate levels of heritability. The anterior insula has a significant phenotypic correlation, whereas the Supplementary Motor Area/Medial Frontal Gyrus (SMA/mSFG) shows both a significant phenotypic correlation and a shared genetic influence with the learning rate, an index for norm adaptation. The dopaminergic DRD2 polymorphisms correlate with both the learning rate and the SMA/mSFG encoding of prediction error, constituting of their common genetic basis. Regional gene expression analysis reveals the high expression of dopamine-related genes in the SMA/mSFG. Moreover, the learning rate can predict depressive symptom severity eight years later, with the DRD2 polymorphisms constituting their shared genetic basis. This suggests that heritability is a non-negligible driving force behind norm adaptation, which facilitates the learning of social norms in changing environments and preserves long-term mental health.

KW - anterior insula

KW - fairness norm adaptation

KW - genetics

KW - prediction error encoding

KW - supplementary motor area

KW - twin studies

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85212235805&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1002/advs.202411070

DO - 10.1002/advs.202411070

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 39679781

SN - 2198-3844

JO - Advanced Science

JF - Advanced Science

ER -