Genetic underpinnings of chills from art and music

2 days ago

Art can evoke strong emotional responses, such as chills, which have genetic underpinnings.
A study of 15,606 genotyped individuals found that up to 29% of variation in aesthetic and music chills is due to familial relatedness, with one-fourth attributed to SNP variation.
A moderate genetic correlation (0.58) exists between aesthetic and music chills, indicating shared genetic influences across art forms.
A polygenic index for openness to experience is associated with susceptibility to both aesthetic and music chills, explaining a small percentage of variance.
The gap between SNP-based and family-based heritability suggests contributions from rare variants, non-additive genetic effects, and shared environmental factors.
Weak partner correlations for chills suggest minimal bias from assortative mating in heritability estimates.
The study highlights the role of genetics in emotional responses to art but acknowledges significant contributions from non-genetic factors.
Limitations include potential sampling bias, measurement error, and the need for cross-cultural validation of findings.

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