Associations between the Antioxidant Network and Emotional Intelligence: A Preliminary Study Mirko Pesce 1 *, Maria R. Sergi 1 , Alessia Rizzuto 1 , Raffaella Tatangelo 1 , Marco Tommasi 1 , Laura Picconi 1 , Michela Balsamo 1 , Valentina Gatta 1 , Liborio Stuppia 1 , Alexander B. Siegling 2 , Elif Go ¨ kc ¸en 2 , Alfredo Grilli 1 , Aristide Saggino 1 1 Department of Psychological, Humanistic and Territorial Sciences University G. d’Annunzio, Chieti, Italy, 2 London Psychometric Laboratory, University College London, London, United Kingdom Abstract Background: Emotional intelligence (EI) can be broadly defined as the ability to cope with environmental demands. In the scientific research, however, there is not a univocal precise definition of EI and recent articles have underlined the necessity to explore its biological basis to advance understanding of the construct. The aim of study was to investigate if the antioxidant network may be associated with typical-performance or trait EI. Methods: The study group consisted of 50 women (age, M = 25.10, SD = 3.87). Super Oxide Dismutase (SOD), Catalase (CAT), Glutathione Reductase (GR), and Glutathione Peroxidase (GPx) activities were evaluated on proteins extracted from Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells. Participants completed the Italian version of the EQ-i (Bar-On, 1997) as a measure of trait EI. Results: We observed positive and significant correlations between some biological variables and EQ-i scores, and a significant predictive effect of CAT activity when controlling for related biological variables, age, and smoking. Conclusions: Our preliminary study suggests that the antioxidant network may constitute some of trait EI’s biological basis. In particular, CAT and the SOD/CAT ratio could be two biological variables involved in some specific components of EI. Citation: Pesce M, Sergi MR, Rizzuto A, Tatangelo R, Tommasi M, et al. (2014) Associations between the Antioxidant Network and Emotional Intelligence: A Preliminary Study. PLoS ONE 9(7): e101247. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0101247 Editor: Vladimir N. Uversky, University of South Florida College of Medicine, United States of America Received March 28, 2014; Accepted June 3, 2014; Published July 1, 2014 Copyright: ß 2014 Pesce et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Data Availability: The authors confirm that all data underlying the findings are fully available without restriction. Data are included within the paper and its Supporting Information files. Funding: The Italian ministry of University and Research. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist. * Email: mirkopesce@unich.it Introduction Scientific landscape shows a great attention for emotional intelligence (EI). However, the definition of this construct remains somewhat elusive, with a number of competing models emerging in the literature in recent decades [1–7]. Bar-On’s model is one of the most prevalent models in the literature, comprising a global trait EI dimension, five broad factors, and 15 more narrow facets [8]. It broadly conceptualizes EI as ‘‘an array of non-cognitive capabilities, competencies, and skills that influence one’s ability to succeed in coping with environmental demands and pressures’’ (p. 14). However, the measure based on this model, the Emotional Quotient Inventory (EQ-i), is most appropriately viewed as a measure of trait EI, since it assesses typical rather than maximum performance [3]. Trait EI is an umbrella construct that integrates the range of personality traits linked to emotions; it represents the affective dimension of personality [3]. Regardless of whether the focus is on the trait or ability dimension, a challenge with EI is to determine the set of measurable manifestations, which explains the large quantity of models that have emerged over the years. A critique levelled against Bar-On’s model is that it is over-inclusive, comprising a large quantity of social and emotional skills that determine how we understand ourselves and others, how we relate to others, and how we cope with daily activities [8]. In particular, it has been suggested that some of these factors are too broad and conceptually unrelated to EI [9–11]. In order to improve our understanding of this construct, researchers have emphasized the necessity to explore its biological basis [12–15]. To date, however, the role of biological factors has not been examined across the EI literature [9,14,16]. The present study provides a starting point for research in this promising area, seeking to identify biological factors implicated in typical-performance or trait EI. Biological factors potentially related to EI are the molecules involved in the regulation of oxidative and antioxidant processes, which were found to play an important role in neuropsychological diseases characterized by cognitive impairment [17–19], in elicitation of mood types, such as anxiety in healthy women [20], and in depression among clinical patients [21]. Under normal physiological conditions, a balance is maintained between PLOS ONE | www.plosone.org 1 July 2014 | Volume 9 | Issue 7 | e101247