科學家發現1,000多個與人格相關的基因變異（2/2）

Recently The New York Times reported the following:

Scientists Find More Than 1,000 Genetic Variants Linked to Personality (2/2)

More than one million genomes helped identify DNA variants linked to extroversion, agreeableness, neuroticism and more. Researchers measured how those traits influenced how people lived.

The NYT - By Emily Baumgaertner Nunn (Emily Baumgaertner Nunn is a national health reporter for The Times, focusing on public health issues that primarily affect vulnerable communities.)

Sept. 3, 2026

(continue)

“It was kind of a conspicuous absence,” said Dr. Tucker-Drob, whose academic work focuses on “individual differences,” a realm of psychology that examines the ways people diverge in their thoughts, feelings and behaviors. To him, personality is not just an abstract concept: The way people engage with themselves and the world can help determine how much money they make, the types of medical care they seek, and how strong their friendships are.

Personality is “meaningfully related to all sorts of outcomes that I think everyone in society values,” he said.

The research team scanned roughly 10 million genetic variants across the genome in order to map the “Big Five.” By aggregating disparate studies on various traits, researchers were able to uncover the ways personality predispositions rippled out into health, habits and lifestyle choices.

Researchers found 258 different genetic variants linked to extroversion, for example, a 15-fold increase in the number of variants previously known. A genetic profile with high extroversion seemed to reduce a person’s risk of anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, all of which involve internalizing distress. But the trait was also linked to neurodevelopmental conditions such as A.D.H.D.

People who were predisposed to conscientiousness — or a capacity for productivity and organization — appeared more likely to exercise, choose low-calorie foods and sleep well. Genetic scores for conscientiousness helped predict who would move out of urban centers and into affluent suburbs by age 50.

Neuroticism, which is defined as a tendency toward emotional instability, was predictably correlated with 10 different psychiatric disorders, plus a higher body mass index and increased rates of smoking. Study participants with genetic profiles high in neuroticism seemed to second-guess themselves in real time, frequently selecting options such as “I don’t know” on research survey questions.

Since neuroticism can be a strong predictor of mental illness, some researchers are particularly interested in how the new findings illuminate possible triggers and avenues of disease. Dalton Conley, a sociologist at Princeton University who was not involved in the research, was particularly intrigued by the way the consortium’s results challenged a long-held theory among psychologists that neuroticism is primarily driven by differences in serotonin levels. Depression and anxiety are often successfully treated with medications that boost the chemical.

The new analysis showed that neuroticism variants were indeed especially active in brain cells — but revealed nothing pronounced about the serotonin system in particular. “I wouldn’t say it’s slaying that theory forever,” Dr. Conley said, “but it’s definitely casting doubt.”

Another unexpected finding came in the context of relationships. Behavioral geneticists know that people tend to select life partners with similar DNA profiles in areas such as educational attainment. But in the new study, personality traits did not show much so-called “assortative mating” at all: In fact, personality variants among partners were matched mostly at random.

In contrast, spouses’ actual personalities — specifically their openness to experience — were sometimes correlated, perhaps because sharing daily life makes people more similar over time. Dr. Conley, who studies the interplay between genes and the environment, said that such hidden phenomena, scattered throughout the data set, are helpful for researchers like himself who are interested in understanding cause and effect.

“The next study that has double the sample size will find 3,000 variants, no surprise,” he said. “But the fact that we can now look into the dynamics between personality and marital stability, or personality and the labor market, or personality and the education system — that’s what makes this a really useful tool.”

Translation

科學家發現1,000多個與人格相關的基因變異（2/2）

超過一百萬個基因組幫助科學家辨識出與外向性、親和力、神經質等人格特質相關的DNA變異。研究人員測量了這些特質如何影響人們的生活方式

（繼續）

Tucker-Drob博士，一個在心理學上專注去研究人在思想、情感和行為上的差異， 叫 “個體差異” 的學術研究領域的人說: 「這確實是一個明顯的空白」。對他而言，人格不僅僅是一個抽象的概念：人們與自身和世界互動的方式會影響他們的收入、他們尋求的醫療保健類型，以及他們交友的倾向度。

他說：“個人性格與我認為社會上每一個人都會重視的各種實況都有密切相關。”

研究團隊掃描了基因組中約1,000萬個基因變異，以繪製「五大人格特質」圖譜。透過整合各種特質的不同研究，研究人員得以揭示人格傾向如何影響健康、習慣和生活方式的選擇。

例如，研究人員發現了258種與外向性相關的基因變異，比先前已知的變異數量增加了15倍。具有高度外向性的基因特徵似乎可以降低個體焦慮症、憂鬱症和創傷後壓力症候群的風險，這些疾病都涉及內化痛苦。但這種特徵也與過動症（ADHD）等神經發育障礙有關。

那些具有責任感（或稱為高效能和組織能力）的人似乎更有可能鍛鍊身體、選擇低熱量食物並擁有良好的睡眠。責任感的基因分數有助預測哪些人會在50歲時從市中心遷往富裕的郊區。

神經質被定義為一種情緒不穩定的傾向，它與10種不同的精神疾病、更高的體重指數，以及更高的吸煙率均有顯著相關性。研究參與者中，神經質基因評分較高的人似乎會即時地自我懷疑，經常在問卷中選擇「我不知道」之類的選項。

由於神經質可以作為精神疾病的強烈預測指標，一些研究人員對這些新發現如何揭示疾病的潛在誘因和途徑特別感興趣。普林斯頓大學的社會學家Dalton Conley並未有參與這項研究，但他對該研究結果挑戰心理學家長期以來所持有的一個理論 - 即神經質主要由血清素水平的差異所驅動 - 尤為感興趣。憂鬱症和焦慮症通常可以透過提高血清素水平的藥物來有效治療。

新的分析表明，神經質變異體確實在腦細胞中特別活躍 - 但並未揭示血清素系統有任何顯著差異。Conley博士說: “我不會說它會永遠徹底推翻那個理論”，“但它無疑提出了質疑。”

另一項出乎意料的發現來自人際關係領域。行為遺傳學家知道，人們傾向於選擇在教育程度等方面擁有相似DNA特徵的伴侶。但在這項新研究中，人格特質幾乎沒有表現出所謂的「同型交配」：事實上，伴侶之間的人格變異體大多是隨機匹配的。

相較之下，配偶的實際人格 - 特別是他們對新體驗的開放情度 - 有時卻存在相關性，這或許是因為共同的日常生活會隨著時間的推移使人們變得更加相似。研究基因與環境交互作用的Conley博士表示，這些散佈在資料集之中的各種隱藏現象，對於像他般致力於去理解因果關係的研究人員來說，是非常有幫助。

他說:「下一項樣本量翻倍的研究將會發現3,000個變異，這並不令人意外」 ，「但我們現在可以研究人格與婚姻穩定性、人格與勞動力市場、人格與教育體系之間的動態關係 - 這才是真正令它成為有用的工具」。

So, scientists have long known that personality is influenced by a number of factors — including DNA. The challenge has been deciphering the specific pathways through which a genetic blueprint influences the direction of a person’s life. Recently, a group of researchers find a symphony of 1,260 genetic markers that have ties to personality, nearly two-thirds of them are identified for the first time. Apparently, we can now look deeper into the dynamics between personality and marital stability, or personality and the labor market, or personality and the education system.