The ANKK1/DRD2 locus is a genomic substrate for affective priming and recognition of angry faces.

Introduction: Ankyrin repeat and kinase domain containing I (ANKK1) and dopamine D2 receptor (DRD2) genes have been associated with psychopathic traits in clinical samples. On the other hand, individuals high in psychopathy show reduced affective priming and deficits in facial expression recognition. We have hypothesized that these emotion-related cognitive phenomena are associated with Taq IA (rs18000497) SNP (single nucleotide polymorphism) of the ANKK1 gene and with C957T (rs6277) SNP of the DRD2 gene.