Gene determines baby's behaviour

Whether you have an easy baby or a fussy one may have nothing to do with your parenting skills because the combination of a certain gene and a particular pattern of brain activity may determine a child's temperament.

Previous studies have suggested that the longer version (allele) of the DRD4 gene is associated with increased sensory responsiveness, risk-seeking behavior and attention problems in children. It has also been determined that infants with more activity in the left frontal cortex are temperamentally "easy" and take little effort to calm down. On the other hand, children with more activity in the right frontal cortex are more easily distressed, more difficult to soothe, and are considered to have a "negative" temperament.

Researchers from Canada examined the interaction between the DRD4 gene and activity in the frontal cortex of the brain to find out if it predicted children's temperament. The researchers measured brain activity in 9-month-old infants. When the children were 4 years old, their mothers completed questionnaires about their children's behavior, and DNA samples were taken from the children for analysis of the DRD4 gene.

It was found that children who had more left frontal cortex activity and had the long version of the DRD4 gene were more easily soothed at 48 months than those with the shorter version of the gene. Children with the long version of the gene and with more activity in the right frontal cortex were the least soothable and had more attention problems than the other children.

The above findings suggest that it is possible that the DRD4 long allele plays different roles (for better and for worse) in child temperament.