Despite the substantial heritability estimates for psychological traits, their precise genetic foundation from a molecular perspective remains elusive. We summarize findings and advances from more than twenty years of research into the molecular genetics of personality and other psychological traits. We describe how the candidate gene approach has – despite its appealing theoretical foundations – often (but not always) failed to point towards replicable associations between genetic polymorphisms and behavioral traits. The genome wide analysis approach on the contrary has become more fruitful in recent years and pointed towards reliable genetic associations. Results from genome wide scan studies (GWAS) are currently leveraged to explore gene-behavior associations through genetic correlation and polygenic score prediction which are important steps towards a precision medicine where treatment options are tailored to a patient’s individual biology. But it is also true that future work needs to take a closer look at GWAS findings to link the growing list of statistical associations to biopsychological theory. We argue that research strategies from the candidate gene approach can be used to address these issues – given that necessary precautions are taken to avoid the problem of false-positive associations.

尽管对心理特征有大量的遗传力估计，但从分子角度看它们的确切遗传基础仍然难以捉摸。我们总结了二十多年来对人格和其他心理特征的分子遗传学研究的发现和进展。尽管存在诱人的理论基础，我们还是描述了候选基因方法是如何（通常（但并非总是））未能指出遗传多态性与行为特征之间的可复制关联。相反，全基因组分析方法近年来变得更加富有成果，并指出了可靠的遗传关联。目前，全基因组扫描研究（GWAS）的结果可用于通过遗传相关性和多基因评分预测来探索基因与行为的关联，这是朝着精准医学迈出的重要一步，在这种医学中，治疗方案应根据患者的个体生物学进行量身定制。但是，的确，未来的工作需要仔细研究GWAS的发现，以将不断增长的统计关联列表与生物心理学理论联系起来。我们认为，考虑到采取必要的预防措施来避免假阳性关联的问题，候选基因方法的研究策略可用于解决这些问题。但是，的确，未来的工作需要仔细研究GWAS的发现，以将不断增长的统计关联列表与生物心理学理论联系起来。我们认为，考虑到采取必要的预防措施来避免假阳性关联的问题，候选基因方法的研究策略可用于解决这些问题。但是，的确，未来的工作需要仔细研究GWAS的发现，以将不断增长的统计关联列表与生物心理学理论联系起来。我们认为，考虑到必须采取必要的预防措施来避免假阳性关联的问题，候选基因方法的研究策略可用于解决这些问题。