The 5-HTTLPR polymorphism impacts moral permissibility of impersonal harmful behaviors

The CAG polymorphism in androgen receptor (AR) gene impacts the moral permissibility of harmful behavior in females.

The moral permissibility of harm is strikingly varied among individuals. In light of the connection between testosterone levels and utilitarian moral judgment, this study examined to what extent a CAG polymorphism in the androgen receptor gene, a genetic polymorphism with the ability to regulate testosterone function, contributes to individual differences in moral judgment. Four hundred and thi...

5-HTTLPR Polymorphism Impacts Task-Evoked and Resting-State Activities of the Amygdala in Han Chinese

BACKGROUND Prior research has shown that the amygdala of carriers of the short allele (s) of the serotonin transporter (5-HTT) gene (5-HTTLPR) have a larger response to negative emotional stimuli and higher spontaneous activity during the resting state than non-carriers. However, recent studies have suggested that the effects of 5-HTTLPR may be specific to different ethnic groups. Few studies h...

Consciousness and the Moral Permissibility of Infanticide

In this paper, we present a conditional argument for the moral permissibility of some kinds of infanticide. The argument is based on a certain view of consciousness and the claim that there is an intimate connection between consciousness and infanticide. In bare outline, the argument is this: it is impermissible to intentionally kill a creature only if the creature is conscious; it is reasonabl...

5-HTTLPR Polymorphism impacts cingulate-amygdala interactions: A genetic susceptibility mechanism for depression

Serotonin Transporter Genotype (5-HTTLPR) Predicts Utilitarian Moral Judgments

BACKGROUND The psychological and neurobiological processes underlying moral judgment have been the focus of extensive recent research. Here we show that serotonin transporter (5-HTTLPR) genotype predicts responses to moral dilemmas featuring foreseen harm to an innocent. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS Participants in this study judged the acceptability of actions that would unintentionally or...