rs53576
OXTR, the ‘empathy gene’, and why we grade it as weak
What this position does
This sits in the oxytocin receptor gene and has been reported to relate to empathy, parenting, optimism and social sensitivity. It is one of the most cited variants in popular psychology.
What each result means
| If you carry | What it means |
|---|---|
| No copies of the effect version AA | Two A copies, the group that scored slightly lower in the original reports In the original reports this group scored slightly lower on some empathy measures. |
| One copy AG | One of each, the middle group Intermediate in the original reports. |
| Two copies GG | Two G copies, the group that scored slightly higher in the original reports In the original reports this group scored slightly higher on some empathy measures. |
Worth knowing. Graded preliminary on purpose. The original studies were small, and later large-sample work has largely failed to replicate them. It is in this report as a worked example of a finding that travelled a very long way on very little evidence, not because you should believe it.
How common each version is
| Ancestry group | G (the effect version) | |
|---|---|---|
| African | 80.6% | |
| American | 64.4% | |
| East Asian | 35.0% | |
| European | 64.9% | |
| South Asian | 55.1% |
1000 Genomes Project phase 3, via Ensembl, retrieved 2026-09-23. These groupings are coarse and flatten a great deal of internal diversity, particularly within Africa. A variant being common somewhere tells you where a piece of your ancestry probably comes from, and nothing else.
How many people carry each result
| Ancestry group | AA | AG | GG |
|---|---|---|---|
| African | 25 / 661 | 206 / 661 | 430 / 661 |
| European | 55 / 503 | 243 / 503 | 205 / 503 |
| East Asian | 212 / 504 | 231 / 504 | 61 / 504 |
| South Asian | 97 / 489 | 245 / 489 | 147 / 489 |
| American | 44 / 347 | 159 / 347 | 144 / 347 |
Counts of people, not modelled frequencies: every one of the 2,504 individuals sequenced by the 1000 Genomes Project phase 3, tallied by the genotype they carry. Deriving these from allele frequencies instead would assume random mating inside each group and undercount the homozygotes.
How to find out which you have
If you have taken a test with 23andMe, AncestryDNA, MyHeritage, Family Tree DNA, TellMeGen or Living DNA, this position is very likely already in the raw data file they gave you. You do not need another test.
One thing to watch if you look it up by hand: testing companies report some positions from one DNA strand and some from the other, and the file does not say which. Read the letters as they appear and you will get the opposite of the truth for some positions. Sequencings resolves that automatically.
Source
Coordinates and allele pair verified against Ensembl GRCh37. Direction of effect verified against VEP protein consequences or 1000 Genomes population frequency. Category: Trait.
Common questions
What is rs53576?
rs53576 is a position in the OXTR gene on chromosome 3. This sits in the oxytocin receptor gene and has been reported to relate to empathy, parenting, optimism and social sensitivity. It is one of the most cited variants in popular psychology.
What does it mean if I have GG at rs53576?
Two G copies, the group that scored slightly higher in the original reports. In the original reports this group scored slightly higher on some empathy measures.
What does it mean if I have AA at rs53576?
Two A copies, the group that scored slightly lower in the original reports. In the original reports this group scored slightly lower on some empathy measures.
How do I find out my rs53576 genotype?
If you have taken a home DNA test, this position is very likely in the raw data file you were given. Sequencings reads that file in your browser without uploading it, and resolves which DNA strand each position was reported from, which is the step most manual lookups get wrong.
This is reference information, not medical advice, and not a diagnosis. See the medical disclaimer. Category: Trait.