We demonstrate that common genetic polymorphisms contribute to the increasing heterogeneity of cognitive functioning in old age. We assess two common Val/Met polymorphisms, one affecting the Catechol-O-Methyltransferase (COMT) enzyme, which degrades dopamine (DA) in prefrontal cortex (PFC), and the other influencing the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) protein. In two tasks (Wisconsin C...

A functional polymorphism in the gene for catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) has been shown to affect executive cognition and the physiology of the prefrontal cortex in humans, probably by affecting prefrontal dopamine signaling. The COMT valine allele, associated with relatively poor prefrontal function, is also a gene that may increase risk for schizophrenia. Although poor performance on exe...

Several lines of evidence have placed the catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) gene in the limelight as a candidate gene for schizophrenia. One of these is its biochemical function in metabolism of catecholamine neurotransmitters; another is the microdeletion, on chromosome 22q11, that includes the COMT gene and causes velocardiofacial syndrome, a syndrome associated with a high rate of psychosi...

BACKGROUND Blood-oxygen-level dependent functional magnetic resonance imaging (BOLD-fMRI) maps cerebral activity by the hemodynamic response. Catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) gene is involved in the metabolism of dopamine. It is reported that both of these can be used to assess the aggression risk in patients with schizophrenia. However, these methods to assess the aggression risk patients w...

s | 5 Conclusions: Aripiprazole demonstrated its efficacy in maintaining abstinence from metamphetamine use in Thai patients with metamphetamine dependence following metamphetamine psychosis. It was found to be safe and well tolerated. Keyword: methamphetamine, aripiprazole, dependence, abstinence PM294 Association between polymorphism of COMT gene and domestic violence in Han and Uygur on alco...

The ability to deduce other persons' mental states and emotions which has been termed 'theory of mind (ToM)' is highly heritable. First molecular genetic studies focused on some dopamine-related genes, while the genetic basis underlying different components of ToM (affective ToM and cognitive ToM) remain unknown. The current study tested 7 candidate polymorphisms (rs4680, rs4633, rs2020917, rs2...

Aggressive behaviors have become a major public health problem, and early-onset aggression can lead to outcomes such as substance abuse, antisocial personality disorder among other issues. In recent years, there has been an increase in research in the molecular and genetic underpinnings of aggressive behavior, and one of the candidate genes codes for the catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT). COM...

Intensive computerized auditory training results in improved cognition for schizophrenia patients, but participants show variation in their cognitive gains and the biological factors that affect the response to training are unknown. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) gene have been related to cognitive function. Here we asked if functional variatio...

OBJECTIVE This study examined associations between functional polymorphism (Val(108/158) Met) in the catechol O-methyltransferase (COMT) gene and eye tracking measures in schizophrenia. METHOD Predictive pursuit and closed-loop gains of 62 patients with schizophrenia and 53 healthy comparison subjects with Val-Val, Val-Met, and Met-Met genotypes were compared. RESULTS There was a significan...

BACKGROUND Second generation antipsychotics (SGAs) are increasingly utilized in Bipolar Disorder (BD) but are potentially associated with cognitive side effects. Also linked to cognitive deficits associated with SGA-treatment are catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) gene variants. In this study, we examine the relationship between cognition in SGA use and COMT rs5993883 in cohort sample of subje...