TY - JOUR

T1 - To cheat or not to cheat

T2 - Tryptophan hydroxylase 2 SNP variants contribute to dishonest behavior

AU - Shen, Q.

AU - Teo, M.

AU - Winter, E.

AU - Hart, E.

AU - Chew, S.H.

AU - Ebstein, R.P.

PY - 2016/5/2

Y1 - 2016/5/2

N2 - Although, lying (bear false witness) is explicitly prohibited in the Decalogue and a focus of interest in philosophy and theology, more recently the behavioral and neural mechanisms of deception are gaining increasing attention from diverse fields especially economics, psychology, and neuroscience. Despite the considerable role of heredity in explaining individual differences in deceptive behavior, few studies have investigated which specific genes contribute to the heterogeneity of lying behavior across individuals. Also, little is known concerning which specific neurotransmitter pathways underlie deception. Toward addressing these two key questions, we implemented a neurogenetic strategy and modeled deception by an incentivized die-under-cup task in a laboratory setting. The results of this exploratory study provide provisional evidence that SNP variants across the tryptophan hydroxylase 2 (TPH2) gene, that encodes the rate-limiting enzyme in the biosynthesis of brain serotonin, contribute to individual differences in deceptive behavior. © 2016 Shen, Teo, Winter, Hart, Chew and Ebstein.

AB - Although, lying (bear false witness) is explicitly prohibited in the Decalogue and a focus of interest in philosophy and theology, more recently the behavioral and neural mechanisms of deception are gaining increasing attention from diverse fields especially economics, psychology, and neuroscience. Despite the considerable role of heredity in explaining individual differences in deceptive behavior, few studies have investigated which specific genes contribute to the heterogeneity of lying behavior across individuals. Also, little is known concerning which specific neurotransmitter pathways underlie deception. Toward addressing these two key questions, we implemented a neurogenetic strategy and modeled deception by an incentivized die-under-cup task in a laboratory setting. The results of this exploratory study provide provisional evidence that SNP variants across the tryptophan hydroxylase 2 (TPH2) gene, that encodes the rate-limiting enzyme in the biosynthesis of brain serotonin, contribute to individual differences in deceptive behavior. © 2016 Shen, Teo, Winter, Hart, Chew and Ebstein.

KW - Lying

KW - Neurogenetics

KW - Serotonin

KW - Single-nucleotide polymorphism

KW - TPH2

KW - brain protein

KW - serotonin

KW - tryptophan hydroxylase 2

KW - adult

KW - Article

KW - dishosnest behavior

KW - exploratory behavior

KW - female

KW - gene frequency

KW - gene function

KW - genetic association

KW - genetic variability

KW - haplotype

KW - human

KW - human experiment

KW - male

KW - neurotransmission

KW - personality

KW - serotonin metabolism

KW - single nucleotide polymorphism

KW - task performance

KW - TPH2 gene

KW - young adult

U2 - 10.3389/fnbeh.2016.00082

DO - 10.3389/fnbeh.2016.00082

M3 - Journal article

VL - 10

JO - Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience

JF - Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience

SN - 1662-5153

IS - MAY

M1 - 82

ER -