COMT genotype and resting brain perfusion in children

Levels of extra-synaptic dopamine in the brain vary as a function of polymorphisms at the val158met locus of the catechol-O-methyltransferase ( COMT) gene. In vivo studies of this polymorphism in the human brain have typically measured patterns of neural activation during dopamine-mediated tasks in...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:NeuroImage (Orlando, Fla.) Vol. 48; no. 1; pp. 217 - 222
Main Authors: Thomason, Moriah E., Waugh, Christian E., Glover, Gary H., Gotlib, Ian H.
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: United States Elsevier Inc 15.10.2009
Elsevier Limited
Subjects:
Adolescent
Analysis of Variance
Behavior
Brain - blood supply
Brain - physiology
Catechol O-Methyltransferase - genetics
Cerebrovascular Circulation - genetics
Cerebrovascular Circulation - physiology
Child
Enzymes
Female
Genotype
Genotype & phenotype
Haplotypes
Humans
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Male
Perfusion Imaging
Polymorphism, Genetic
Regional Blood Flow
Rest
Sequence Analysis, DNA
Studies
ISSN:1053-8119, 1095-9572, 1095-9572
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:Levels of extra-synaptic dopamine in the brain vary as a function of polymorphisms at the val158met locus of the catechol-O-methyltransferase ( COMT) gene. In vivo studies of this polymorphism in the human brain have typically measured patterns of neural activation during dopamine-mediated tasks in adults. This study is the first to investigate the effects of COMT on brain physiology during rest and in children. We used flow-sensitive arterial spin-labeling (ASL) magnetic resonance imaging to examine brain blood flow (CBF) in 42 children. Compared with val-allele carriers, met-allele homozygotes exhibited greater CBF in mesolimbic, mesocortical, and nigrostriatal dopamine (DA) pathways. Higher CBF in DA-rich brain structures reflects COMT-related baseline differences that (1) underlie the selective behavioral advantages associated with each genotype; (2) affect interpretations of previously reported genotype differences in BOLD signal changes; and (3) serve as a foundation for future studies on the effects of COMT on brain development.
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ISSN:1053-8119
1095-9572
1095-9572
DOI:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2009.05.076