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Oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR) is related to psychological resources

Saphire-Bernstein S, Way BM, Kim HS, Sherman DK, Taylor SE. · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2011

Original publication · Original publication · Original publication

Attributed extracts from the research record

“Psychological resources—optimism, mastery, and self-esteem—buffer the deleterious effects of stress and are predictors of neurophysiological and psychological health-related outcomes. These resources have been shown to be highly heritable, yet the genetic basis for this heritability remains unknown.”
“Here, we report a link between the oxytocin receptor (OXTR) SNP rs53576 and psychological resources, such that carriers of the “A” allele have lower levels of optimism, mastery, and self-esteem, relative to G/G homozygotes.”
“OXTR was also associated with depressive symptomatology. Mediation analysis indicates that the effects of OXTR on depressive symptoms may be largely mediated by the influence of OXTR on psychological resources.”

Evidence and provenance

Chapter Trust Factor uses a minimum of three distinct qualifying studies. Publication records retain their own evidence and assessment.

Study design and assessment
design
assessment
Not recorded
trust Factor
score
1
scope
Paper
status
assessed
randomized Controlled Trial
Not recorded
blinding
not-confirmed
peer Reviewed
true
basis
Indexed peer-reviewed research; a qualifying randomized controlled design is not established in the reviewed record.
sources

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21896752/ · https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1113137108 · https://www.pnas.org/content/108/37/15118.short · https://www.pnas.org/content/108/37/15118

review Scope
Existing publication-specific assessments and bibliographic indexing; no blanket full-text appraisal.
assessed At
2026-10-27
jadad
status
unassessed
score
Not recorded
evidence
Not recorded
Topics and recorded topic scores
  1. key
    sound:xxx
    title
    OXTR variation and psychological resources
    collection
    sound
    trust Score
    1
  2. key
    language:iii
    title
    Oxytocin, OXTR variation and responses to meditation
    collection
    language
    trust Score
    1
  3. key
    general:sound-xxx
    title
    OXTR variation and psychological resources
    collection
    general
    trust Score
    1
  4. key
    general:language-iii
    title
    Oxytocin, OXTR variation and responses to meditation
    collection
    general
    trust Score
    1
Citation snapshot and identifiers
id
pmid-21896752
doi
10.1073/pnas.1113137108
pmid
21896752
citation Snapshot
Not recorded
citations By Collection
sound
277
language
273
general
277
Complete approved library record
id
pmid-21896752
publication Key
Not recorded
aliases
None recorded
title
Oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR) is related to psychological resources
journal
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
neurotransmitters
None recorded
year
2011
authors
Saphire-Bernstein S, Way BM, Kim HS, Sherman DK, Taylor SE.
design
kind
Journal article
identity Conflict
Not recorded
doi
10.1073/pnas.1113137108
pmid
21896752
urls

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3174632/ · https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21896752/ · https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1113137108

collections

sound · language · general

categories

Genetics & genomics · Molecular biomarkers · Clinical & self-report

targets

OXTR · OXT

priority
0
quotes

“Psychological resources—optimism, mastery, and self-esteem—buffer the deleterious effects of stress and are predictors of neurophysiological and psychological health-related outcomes. These resources have been shown to be highly heritable, yet the genetic basis for this heritability remains unknown.” · “Here, we report a link between the oxytocin receptor (OXTR) SNP rs53576 and psychological resources, such that carriers of the “A” allele have lower levels of optimism, mastery, and self-esteem, relative to G/G homozygotes.” · “OXTR was also associated with depressive symptomatology. Mediation analysis indicates that the effects of OXTR on depressive symptoms may be largely mediated by the influence of OXTR on psychological resources.”

summary
limitation
citation Count
277
paper Trust Assessment
score
1
scope
Paper
status
assessed
randomized Controlled Trial
Not recorded
blinding
not-confirmed
peer Reviewed
true
basis
Indexed peer-reviewed research; a qualifying randomized controlled design is not established in the reviewed record.
sources

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21896752/ · https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1113137108 · https://www.pnas.org/content/108/37/15118.short · https://www.pnas.org/content/108/37/15118

review Scope
Existing publication-specific assessments and bibliographic indexing; no blanket full-text appraisal.
assessed At
2026-10-27
citations By Collection
sound
277
language
273
general
277
topics
  1. key
    sound:xxx
    title
    OXTR variation and psychological resources
    collection
    sound
    trust Score
    1
  2. key
    language:iii
    title
    Oxytocin, OXTR variation and responses to meditation
    collection
    language
    trust Score
    1
  3. key
    general:sound-xxx
    title
    OXTR variation and psychological resources
    collection
    general
    trust Score
    1
  4. key
    general:language-iii
    title
    Oxytocin, OXTR variation and responses to meditation
    collection
    general
    trust Score
    1
journal Key
proceedingsofthenationalacademyofsciencesoftheunitedstatesofamerica
journal Label
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
chapter Entries
  1. id
    xxx-pmid-21896752
    record Id
    pmid-21896752
    title
    Oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR) is related to psychological resources
    journal
    Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
    year
    2011
    authors
    Saphire-Bernstein S, Way BM, Kim HS, Sherman DK, Taylor SE.
    design
    urls

    https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3174632/ · https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21896752/ · https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1113137108

    quotes
      1. text
        “Psychological resources—optimism, mastery, and self-esteem—buffer the deleterious effects of stress and are predictors of neurophysiological and psychological health-related outcomes. These resources have been shown to be highly heritable, yet the genetic basis for this heritability remains unknown.”
        emphasis
        false
      1. text
        “Here, we report a link between the oxytocin receptor (OXTR) SNP rs53576 and psychological resources, such that carriers of the “A” allele have lower levels of optimism, mastery, and self-esteem, relative to G/G homozygotes.”
        emphasis
        false
      1. text
        “OXTR was also associated with depressive symptomatology. Mediation analysis indicates that the effects of OXTR on depressive symptoms may be largely mediated by the influence of OXTR on psychological resources.”
        emphasis
        false
    citation Count
    277
    source Pages

    120

    targets

    OXTR · OXT

    categories

    Genetics & genomics · Molecular biomarkers · Clinical & self-report

    doi
    10.1073/pnas.1113137108
    pmid
    21896752
    paper Trust Assessment
    score
    1
    scope
    Paper
    status
    assessed
    randomized Controlled Trial
    Not recorded
    blinding
    not-confirmed
    peer Reviewed
    true
    basis
    Indexed peer-reviewed research; a qualifying randomized controlled design is not established in the reviewed record.
    sources

    https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21896752/ · https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1113137108 · https://www.pnas.org/content/108/37/15118.short · https://www.pnas.org/content/108/37/15118

    review Scope
    Existing publication-specific assessments and bibliographic indexing; no blanket full-text appraisal.
    assessed At
    2026-10-27
    collection
    sound
    chapter Number
    6
    topic Id
    xxx
    topic Title
    OXTR variation and psychological resources
    trust Score
    1
  2. id
    language-iii-pmid-21896752
    record Id
    pmid-21896752
    title
    Oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR) is related to psychological resources
    journal
    Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
    year
    2011
    authors
    Saphire-Bernstein S, Way BM, Kim HS, Sherman DK, Taylor SE.
    design
    urls

    https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3174632/ · https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21896752/ · https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1113137108

    quotes
      1. text
        “Psychological resources of optimism, mastery, and self-esteem have been found to be significant predictors of effective stress management, neurophysiological responses to stress, and physical and psychological health-related outcomes in previous research. The present results suggest that OXTR is one gene that is linked to these resources”
        emphasis
        false
    citation Count
    273
    source Pages

    17

    targets

    OXTR · OXT

    categories

    Genetics & genomics · Molecular biomarkers · Clinical & self-report

    doi
    10.1073/pnas.1113137108
    pmid
    21896752
    paper Trust Assessment
    score
    1
    scope
    Paper
    status
    assessed
    randomized Controlled Trial
    Not recorded
    blinding
    not-confirmed
    peer Reviewed
    true
    basis
    Indexed peer-reviewed research; a qualifying randomized controlled design is not established in the reviewed record.
    sources

    https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21896752/ · https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1113137108 · https://www.pnas.org/content/108/37/15118.short · https://www.pnas.org/content/108/37/15118

    review Scope
    Existing publication-specific assessments and bibliographic indexing; no blanket full-text appraisal.
    assessed At
    2026-10-27
    collection
    language
    chapter Number
    1
    topic Id
    iii
    topic Title
    Oxytocin, OXTR variation and responses to meditation
    trust Score
    1
  3. id
    general-xxx-pmid-21896752
    record Id
    pmid-21896752
    title
    Oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR) is related to psychological resources
    journal
    Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
    year
    2011
    authors
    Saphire-Bernstein S, Way BM, Kim HS, Sherman DK, Taylor SE.
    design
    urls

    https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3174632/ · https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21896752/ · https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1113137108

    quotes
      1. text
        “Psychological resources—optimism, mastery, and self-esteem—buffer the deleterious effects of stress and are predictors of neurophysiological and psychological health-related outcomes. These resources have been shown to be highly heritable, yet the genetic basis for this heritability remains unknown.”
        emphasis
        false
      1. text
        “Here, we report a link between the oxytocin receptor (OXTR) SNP rs53576 and psychological resources, such that carriers of the “A” allele have lower levels of optimism, mastery, and self-esteem, relative to G/G homozygotes.”
        emphasis
        false
      1. text
        “OXTR was also associated with depressive symptomatology. Mediation analysis indicates that the effects of OXTR on depressive symptoms may be largely mediated by the influence of OXTR on psychological resources.”
        emphasis
        false
    citation Count
    277
    source Pages

    120

    targets

    OXTR · OXT

    categories

    Genetics & genomics · Molecular biomarkers · Clinical & self-report

    doi
    10.1073/pnas.1113137108
    pmid
    21896752
    paper Trust Assessment
    score
    1
    scope
    Paper
    status
    assessed
    randomized Controlled Trial
    Not recorded
    blinding
    not-confirmed
    peer Reviewed
    true
    basis
    Indexed peer-reviewed research; a qualifying randomized controlled design is not established in the reviewed record.
    sources

    https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21896752/ · https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1113137108 · https://www.pnas.org/content/108/37/15118.short · https://www.pnas.org/content/108/37/15118

    review Scope
    Existing publication-specific assessments and bibliographic indexing; no blanket full-text appraisal.
    assessed At
    2026-10-27
    collection
    general
    chapter Number
    1
    topic Id
    sound-xxx
    topic Title
    OXTR variation and psychological resources
    trust Score
    1
  4. id
    general-language-iii-pmid-21896752
    record Id
    pmid-21896752
    title
    Oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR) is related to psychological resources
    journal
    Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
    year
    2011
    authors
    Saphire-Bernstein S, Way BM, Kim HS, Sherman DK, Taylor SE.
    design
    urls

    https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3174632/ · https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21896752/ · https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1113137108

    quotes
      1. text
        “Psychological resources of optimism, mastery, and self-esteem have been found to be significant predictors of effective stress management, neurophysiological responses to stress, and physical and psychological health-related outcomes in previous research. The present results suggest that OXTR is one gene that is linked to these resources”
        emphasis
        false
    citation Count
    273
    source Pages

    17

    targets

    OXTR · OXT

    categories

    Genetics & genomics · Molecular biomarkers · Clinical & self-report

    doi
    10.1073/pnas.1113137108
    pmid
    21896752
    paper Trust Assessment
    score
    1
    scope
    Paper
    status
    assessed
    randomized Controlled Trial
    Not recorded
    blinding
    not-confirmed
    peer Reviewed
    true
    basis
    Indexed peer-reviewed research; a qualifying randomized controlled design is not established in the reviewed record.
    sources

    https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21896752/ · https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1113137108 · https://www.pnas.org/content/108/37/15118.short · https://www.pnas.org/content/108/37/15118

    review Scope
    Existing publication-specific assessments and bibliographic indexing; no blanket full-text appraisal.
    assessed At
    2026-10-27
    collection
    general
    chapter Number
    1
    topic Id
    language-iii
    topic Title
    Oxytocin, OXTR variation and responses to meditation
    trust Score
    1
jadad
status
unassessed
score
Not recorded
condition Evidence
None recorded
conditions
None recorded
topic Trust Scores

1

full Text
status
not-indexed
retrieval Available
false

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