COMT genotype influences prefrontal response to emotional distraction

Sonia J. Bishop, Jonathan D. Cohen, John Possella, B. J. Casey, Martha J. Farah

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

62 Scopus citations

Abstract

Early studies of genetic effects on brain activity have been conducted to investigate primarily either the influence of polymorphisms in dopaminergic genes, especially the catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) gene, on prefrontal cognitive processes such as working memory, or that of polymorphisms in the serotonin transporter gene on the amygdala response to threatening stimuli Here, we address genetic influences on the neural systems underlying cognitive-affective interactions. Specifically, we assess the effect of the COMT val158met polymorphism on frontal regulation of attention under emotional distraction. Healthy volunteers were scanned while performing a house-matching task with affectively negative versus neutral distractors. Effects of val allele load were examined on frontal regions associated with attentional control and emotion regulation, and on parahippocampal regions associated with perception of houses. As we predicted, val load correlated positively with activity in control- and task-related regions during performance under emotional distraction. These findings provide an initial step toward identifying genetic contributions to interindividual variability in recruitment of mechanisms that regulate affective processing.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)62-70
Number of pages9
JournalCognitive, Affective and Behavioral Neuroscience
Volume6
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Mar 2006

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Cognitive Neuroscience
  • Behavioral Neuroscience

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