Association of the serotonin transporter promoter region polymorphism with biased attention for negative word stimuli

Background: Biased attention for emotional stimuli reflects vulnerability or resilience to emotional disorders. The current study examines whether the 5‐HTTLPR polymorphism is associated with attentional biases for negative word stimuli. Methods: Unmedicated, young adults with low current depression and anxiety symptoms (N=106) were genotyped for the 5‐HTTLPR, including the single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs25531 in the long allele of the 5‐HTTLPR. Participants then completed a standard dot‐probe task that measured attentional bias toward anxiety, dysphoric, and self‐esteem words. Results: The L_AL_A allele group demonstrated an attentional bias away from negative word stimuli. This attentional bias was absent among the S/L_G carriers. Conclusions: These findings replicate previous work and suggest that 5‐HTTLPR L_A homozygotes possess a protective attentional bias that may decrease susceptibility to depression and anxiety. Depression and Anxiety, 2010. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.