Wednesday, November 25, 2009

If there was a genetic test that predicted poor parenting/teaching skills, would you take it?

An excellent article in the Science section of the NY Times covers some of the recent research on oxytocin in humans.

The Biology Behind the Milk of Human Kindness


New research suggests that oxytocin underlies the twin emotional pillars of civilized life, our capacity to feel empathy and trust.

November 24, 2009 - By NATALIE ANGIER - Science
 
In their sample of 192 male and female college students, the researchers found that those carrying the so-called A version of the oxytocin receptor, which previous reports had associated with autism and poor parenting skills, scored significantly lower on the eye-reading task and higher on the stress-prone test than did subjects with the G variant of the receptor.

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