Genetic And Neuroendocrine Basics Of Passion And Eros: Roles Of The NR3C1 Polymorphisms And Cortisol Levels

Romantic passion and eros play important roles in the formation and development of intimate relationship.It is believed that passion is one of effective predictors for stability and satisfaction of relationship.Studies indicated that cortisol is related to psychological characteristics and behaviors of romantic relationship.The rs41423247 polymorphism of NR3C1 is related to the increased sensitivity of glucocorticoid receptors and the stress responses;the A allele of rs10052957 in NR3C1 is related to the increased daily cortisol level.However,the genetic and neuroendocrine mechanisms of cortisol underpinning romantic passion and eros were not clear.This study measured the passion and eros of 118 college-student couples with the Passion Love Scale(PLS)and the Love Attitude Scale-Eros(LAS-E),and genotyped the rs41424347and rs10052957of NR3C1 gene with restriction enzyme digestion method.Cortisol level was measured with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA).The results were shown as follows:(1)The NR3C1 rs10052957 was significantly associated with romantic passion(?=0.146,R~2=0.021,t=2.227,p=0.027),such that the A carriers showed higher levels of passion(GA/AA,N=46,221.37±26.49).The rs10052957 was significantly associated with the cognitive and emotion components,but not with the behavior component of passion(cognitive:?=0.146,R~2=0.021,t=2.228,p=0.027;emotion:?=0.144,R~2=0.021,t=2.228,p=0.029;behavior:?=0.095,R~2=0.009,t=1.437,p=0.152).However,the rs41423247 was not significantly associated with passion(?<0.001,R~2<0.001,t=-0.007,p=0.994).(2)The NR3C1 rs10052957 with significantly associated with the individual differences in eros(?=0.130,R~2=0.017,t=1.980,p=0.049).The individuals with the A allele were more romantic in intimate relationship than the individuals with the GG genotype(GA/AA,N=46,27.63±3.684;GG,N=146,26.70±3.959).The passion levels modulated the association between the NR3C1 rs10052957 and the eros.The mediating effect accounted for 60.77%of the effect NR3C1 rs10052957 on the eros.However,the rs41423247 was not associated with the eros(?=-0.036,R~2=0.001,t=-0.541,p=0.589).(3)The cortisol levels were not significantly associated with passion and eros of romantic relationship(passion:?=-0.114,R~2=0.013,t=-1.630,p=0.105;eros:?=0.046,R~2=0.002,t=0.659,p=0.511).Conclusion:Individual differences in passion and eros are influenced by the polymorphisms of NR3C1.