to financial loss (70, 82), and even social blushing (83). Although this literature is not without inconsistencies (e.g., some reported associations are sex-specific and others have not replicated), it does suggest that the effects of the 5-HTTLPR S allele on the brain’s neural circuitry for responding to environmental threat and stress translate to biases in both behavioral and physiological processes which may, in turn, shape individual risk for depression upon exposure to acute trauma or chronic stressors (Figure 2). Multiple components of this ongoing research were highlighted in one report of increases in threat-related amygdala and medial pre-frontal cortical activation as well as heart rate and startle amplitude in 5-HTTLPR S-carriers who also exhibited a self-reported sensitivity to perceived danger in the environment (28).
