For more information: Variation of the human cannabinoid receptor (CNR1) gene modulate the duration of the look of happy faces, Bhismadev Chakrabarti and Simon Baron-Cohen, Autism molecular (in press)The new research was led by Dr. Chakrabarti Bhismadev University of Reading and Professor Simon Baron-Cohen of Cambridge University. Their previous research had shown that polymorphisms (natural mutations) in the CNR1 have been associated with altered activity in the striatum (a brain region involved in emotion and reward behaviors) in response to happy faces.
In the new study, researchers analyzed DNA from 28 adult volunteers and tested (with an ‘eye tracker’) for how long the volunteers looked at the eyes and mouths of the faces in video clips showing different emotions. The team found changes in two of the four CNR1 polymorphisms correlated with a longer look at the happy faces, but not their faces showing disgust. These two genomic sites involved in the happy faces were a part of the DNA does not code for proteins, but instead may be involved in the regulation of protein production.
Although we all depend to read people’s faces, each of us sees other faces a little ‘different. Some of us can look deeply into the eyes of others, while others seem more reserved. At one end of the spectrum of people with autism spectrum conditions (ASC) are not the faces of others, and have difficulty understanding the feelings of others. New research published in BioMed Central’s open access journal Autism Molecular variations found cannabinoid receptor gene (CNR1) which changes the amount of time people spend looking at happy faces.