Association of Dopamine D2 Receptor Gene with Creative Ideation

Although several studies suggest that dopamine D2 receptor (DRD2) gene may contribute to creativity, the relationship between DRD2 and creativity still needs to be further validated. To further test the relevance of DRD2 and creativity, this study explored the association between DRD2 and creative ideation in 483 unrelated healthy Chinese undergraduate students. A total of 15 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) covering the DRD2 were genotyped, and creative ideation was assessed by the Runco Ideational Behavior Scale (RIBS). Single SNP analysis showed that 2 SNPs (rs4648317 and rs4938019) were nominally associated with fluency, 4 SNPs (rs4648317, rs4938019, rs4648319, and rs1800497) were nominally associated with flexibility, and 1 SNP (rs4648317) was nominally associated with originality. Haplotype analysis showed several haplotypes were nominally associated with various creative ideation indexes. However, none of these nominal associations survived correction for multiple testing. Overall, this study provides suggestive evidence for the genetic impact of DRD2 on creative ideation and supports the assumption that the genotype variations in DRD2 contribute to creativity.