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COMT val108/158 met genotype affects neural but not cognitive processing in healthy individuals.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Dennis, NA; Need, AC; LaBar, KS; Waters-Metenier, S; Cirulli, ET; Kragel, J; Goldstein, DB; Cabeza, R
Published in: Cerebral cortex (New York, N.Y. : 1991)
March 2010

The relationship between cognition and a functional polymorphism in the catechol-O-methlytransferase (COMT) gene, val108/158met, is one of debate in the literature. Furthermore, based on the dopaminergic differences associated with the COMT val108/158met genotype, neural differences during cognition may be present, regardless of genotypic differences in cognitive performance. To investigate these issues the current study aimed to 1) examine the effects of COMT genotype using a large sample of healthy individuals (n = 496-1218) and multiple cognitive measures, and using a subset of the sample (n = 22), 2) examine whether COMT genotype effects medial temporal lobe (MTL) and frontal activity during successful relational memory processing, and 3) investigate group differences in functional connectivity associated with successful relational memory processing. Results revealed no significant group difference in cognitive performance between COMT genotypes in any of the 19 cognitive measures. However, in the subset sample, COMT val homozygotes exhibited significantly decreased MTL and increased prefrontal activity during both successful relational encoding and retrieval, and reduced connectivity between these regions compared with met homozygotes. Taken together, the results suggest that although the COMT val108/158met genotype has no effect on cognitive behavioral measures in healthy individuals, it is associated with differences in neural process underlying cognitive output.

Duke Scholars

Published In

Cerebral cortex (New York, N.Y. : 1991)

DOI

EISSN

1460-2199

ISSN

1047-3211

Publication Date

March 2010

Volume

20

Issue

3

Start / End Page

672 / 683

Related Subject Headings

  • Young Adult
  • Valine
  • Temporal Lobe
  • Prefrontal Cortex
  • Oxygen
  • Neuropsychological Tests
  • Middle Aged
  • Methionine
  • Memory
  • Male
 

Citation

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Dennis, N. A., Need, A. C., LaBar, K. S., Waters-Metenier, S., Cirulli, E. T., Kragel, J., … Cabeza, R. (2010). COMT val108/158 met genotype affects neural but not cognitive processing in healthy individuals. Cerebral Cortex (New York, N.Y. : 1991), 20(3), 672–683. https://doi.org/10.1093/cercor/bhp132
Dennis, Nancy A., Anna C. Need, Kevin S. LaBar, Sheena Waters-Metenier, Elizabeth T. Cirulli, James Kragel, David B. Goldstein, and Roberto Cabeza. “COMT val108/158 met genotype affects neural but not cognitive processing in healthy individuals.Cerebral Cortex (New York, N.Y. : 1991) 20, no. 3 (March 2010): 672–83. https://doi.org/10.1093/cercor/bhp132.
Dennis NA, Need AC, LaBar KS, Waters-Metenier S, Cirulli ET, Kragel J, et al. COMT val108/158 met genotype affects neural but not cognitive processing in healthy individuals. Cerebral cortex (New York, NY : 1991). 2010 Mar;20(3):672–83.
Dennis, Nancy A., et al. “COMT val108/158 met genotype affects neural but not cognitive processing in healthy individuals.Cerebral Cortex (New York, N.Y. : 1991), vol. 20, no. 3, Mar. 2010, pp. 672–83. Epmc, doi:10.1093/cercor/bhp132.
Dennis NA, Need AC, LaBar KS, Waters-Metenier S, Cirulli ET, Kragel J, Goldstein DB, Cabeza R. COMT val108/158 met genotype affects neural but not cognitive processing in healthy individuals. Cerebral cortex (New York, NY : 1991). 2010 Mar;20(3):672–683.
Journal cover image

Published In

Cerebral cortex (New York, N.Y. : 1991)

DOI

EISSN

1460-2199

ISSN

1047-3211

Publication Date

March 2010

Volume

20

Issue

3

Start / End Page

672 / 683

Related Subject Headings

  • Young Adult
  • Valine
  • Temporal Lobe
  • Prefrontal Cortex
  • Oxygen
  • Neuropsychological Tests
  • Middle Aged
  • Methionine
  • Memory
  • Male