Genetic Polymorphisms

The Wiley Encyclopedia of Health Psychology, pp. 59–74

Abstract

This chapter provides an overview of the current knowledge of the influence of genetic variations (polymorphisms) on human health. Several types of polymorphisms will be introduced, which exert specific influences on different neurotransmitter systems in the brain, thereby contributing to individual differences in several functional domains of human cognition and behavior. The functional domains discussed here comprise the processing of rewards, learning, memory, and personality, each of which will be addressed in an own section. We will show how individual differences in human cognition and behavior are shaped by genetic variations and summarize how specific genetic polymorphisms may represent risk factors for pathological conditions marked by deficits in these functional domains.

Authors 2

1. Mikhail Votinov Aachen Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics

   RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany

   Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-10), Jülich, Germany

   Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-10), Jülich, Germany

2. Katharina S. Goerlich Aachen Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics

   RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany