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Original Research ARTICLE

Individual differences in scanpaths correspond with serotonin transporter genotype and behavioral phenotype in rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta)

Robert R. Gibboni III, Prisca E. Zimmerman and Katalin M. Gothard*

Department of Physiology, College of Medicine, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA

Scanpaths (the succession of fixations and saccades during spontaneous viewing) contain information about the image but also about the viewer. To determine the viewer-dependent factors in the scanpaths of monkeys, we trained three adult males (Macaca mulatta) to look for 3 s at images of conspecific facial expressions with either direct or averted gaze. The subjects showed significant differences on four basic scanpath parameters (number of fixations, fixation duration, saccade length, and total scanpath length) when viewing the same facial expression/gaze direction combinations. Furthermore, we found differences between monkeys in feature preference and in the temporal order in which features were visited on different facial expressions. Overall, the between-subject variability was larger than the within- subject variability, suggesting that scanpaths reflect individual preferences in allocating visual attention to various features in aggressive, neutral, and appeasing facial expressions. Individual scanpath characteristics were brought into register with the genotype for the serotonin transporter regulatory gene (5-HTTLPR) and with behavioral characteristics such as expression of anticipatory anxiety and impulsiveness/hesitation in approaching food in the presence of a potentially dangerous object.

Keywords:

facial expression, gaze direction, social behavior, emotion, temperament, serotonin transporter, genotype, scanpath

Citation:

Gibboni III RR, Zimmerman PE and Gothard KM (2009). Individual differences in scanpaths correspond with serotonin transporter genotype and behavioral phenotype in rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta). Front. Behav. Neurosci. 3:50. doi: 10.3389/neuro.08.050.2009

Received:

31 July 2009;

Paper pending published:

23 September 2009;

Accepted:

31 October 2009;

Published online:

16 November 2009.

Edited by:

Martin Giurfa, CNRS University Paul Sabatier, France

Reviewed by:

Lisa A. Parr, Emory University, USA
Michael Platt, Duke University, USA
Simon J. Thorpe, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifi que, France

© 2009 Gibboni III, Zimmerman and Gothard. This is an open-access article subject to an exclusive license agreement between the authors and the Frontiers Research Foundation, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original authors and source are credited.

*Correspondence:

Katalin M. Gothard, Department of Physiology, University of Arizona, 1501 N. Campbell Ave, Room 4104, Tucson, AZ 85724, USA. e-mail: kgothard@email.arizona.edu