The effect of the catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) Val158Met polymorphism on brain morphology has been investigated but remains controversial. We hypothesized that a comparison between Val/Val and Val/Met individuals, which may represent the most different combinations concerning the effects of the COMT genotype, may reveal new findings. We investigated the brain morphology using 3-Tesla mag...

Extensive mammographic density is heritable, strongly associated with increased breast cancer risk, and is influenced by sex hormone exposure. In a cross-sectional study of 181 pre- and 171 postmenopausal women without breast cancer, we examined the relationship of a functional polymorphism in catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT; VAL-->MET) to mammographic density and other risk factors for brea...

Cognitive remediation is the best available tool to treat cognitive deficits in schizophrenia and has evidence of biological validity; however results are still heterogeneous and significant predictors are lacking. Previous studies showed that cognitive remediation is able to induce changes in PFC function and dopaminergic transmission and thus the study of possible sources of variability at th...

Recent data from animal studies raise the possibility that dopaminergic neuromodulation promotes the encoding of novel stimuli. We investigated a possible role for the dopaminergic midbrain in human episodic memory by measuring how polymorphisms in dopamine clearance pathways affect encoding-related brain activity (functional magnetic resonance imaging) in an episodic memory task. In 51 young, ...

OBJECTIVE To test whether variation in the gene encoding the enzyme catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT), which catalyzes the breakdown of dopamine and other catecholamine neurotransmitters, is associated with the risk for alcohol dependence and habitual smoking. METHODS Single nucleotide polymophisms (SNPs) were genotyped in a sample of 219 multiplex alcohol-dependent families of European Ame...

Cortical thickness has been proposed as a new promising brain imaging endophenotype in elucidating the nature of gene-brain relationships. Here, we define the morphological impact of the Val(158)Met polymorphism in the catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) gene on human brain anatomy. One hundred and forty-nine adult healthy subjects (mean age: 40.7+/-16.1; ranging from 19 to 76 years) were genot...

A functional polymorphism (val158met) of the gene coding for Catechol-O-methyltransferase (COM) has been demonstrated to be related to processing of emotional stimuli. Also, this polymorphism has been found to be associated with pain regulation in healthy subjects. Therefore, we investigated a possible influence of this polymorphism on pain processing in healthy persons as well as in subjects w...

Genetic variation in the catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) Val158Met polymorphism has been shown to influence performance on cognitive and emotional tasks. Specifically, it has been suggested that the Met allele might be less advantageous than the Val allele with respect to emotional processing. This study addresses the question whether the presence of the Met allele is directly related to bo...