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Updated: Jul 2, 2026

Measuring Attentional Biases for Threat in Children and Adults
Published on: October 19, 2014
Variation in the serotonin transporter gene modulates selective attention to threat
Roman Osinsky1, Martin Reuter, Yvonne Küpper
1Department of Psychology, University of Giessen, Giessen, Germany. Roman.Osinsky@psychol.uni-giessen.de
Abstract:
The 5-HTTLPR is an insertion/deletion polymorphism in the promoter region of the serotonin transporter gene. Prior research has revealed associations between the short-allele variant of this polymorphism, enhanced self-reported negative emotionality, and hypersensitivity of fear relevant neural circuits. In a sample of 50 healthy women we examined the role of 5-HTTLPR for cognitive-affective processing of phylogenetical fear-relevant stimuli (spiders) in a dot probe task. In contrast to homozygote long-allele carriers (ll), participants carrying at least 1 short allele (ss and sl) selectively shifted attention toward pictures of spiders, when these were presented for a duration of 2,000 ms. These results argue for an involvement of 5-HTTLPR in cognitive processing of threatening stimuli and thus, underpin its general role for individual differences in negative affect.
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