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The COMTp.Val158Met polymorphism and cognitive performance in adult development, healthy aging and mild cognitive impairment

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The impact of genetic polymorphisms on cognition is assumed to increase with age as losses of brain resources have to be compensated for. We investigate the relation of catechol-O-methyltransferase <i>(COMT)</i><i>p.Val158Met</i> polymorphism and cognitive capacity in the cou...

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Main Authors: Degen, Christina (Author) , Zschocke, Johannes (Author) , Toro, Pablo (Author) , Hildesheim, Christine (Author) , Wahl, Hans-Werner (Author) , Schönknecht, Peter (Author) , Schröder, Johannes (Author)
Format: Article (Journal)
Language:English
Published: 2016
In: Dementia and geriatric cognitive disorders
Year: 2016, Volume: 41, Issue: 1/2, Pages: 27-34
ISSN:1421-9824
DOI:10.1159/000439585
Online Access:Verlag, lizenzpflichtig, Volltext: https://doi.org/10.1159/000439585
Verlag, lizenzpflichtig, Volltext: https://www.karger.com/Article/FullText/439585
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Author Notes:Christina Degen, Johannes Zschocke, Pablo Toro, Christine Sattler, Hans-Werner Wahl, Peter Schönknecht, Johannes Schröder
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Summary:The impact of genetic polymorphisms on cognition is assumed to increase with age as losses of brain resources have to be compensated for. We investigate the relation of catechol-O-methyltransferase <i>(COMT)</i><i>p.Val158Met</i> polymorphism and cognitive capacity in the course of adult development, healthy aging and the development of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) in two birth cohorts of subjects born between 1930 and 1932 or between 1950 and 1952. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> Thorough neuropsychological assessment was conducted in a total of 587 participants across three examination waves between 1993 and 2008. The <i>COMT</i> genotype was determined as a restriction fragment length polymorphism after PCR amplification and digestion with <i>Nla</i>III. <b><i>Results:</i></b> Significant effects of the <i>COMT</i><i>p.Val158Met</i> polymorphism were identified for attention and cognitive flexibility in the younger but not the older cohort. <b><i>Conclusion:</i></b> These results confirm the importance of the <i>COMT</i><i>p.Val158Met</i> genotype on tasks assessing attention and cognitive flexibility in midlife but not in healthy aging and the development of MCI. Our findings suggest that the influence of <i>COMT</i> changes as a function of age, decreasing from midlife to aging.
Item Description:Gesehen am 11.01.2021
Published online: October 22, 2015
Physical Description:Online Resource
ISSN:1421-9824
DOI:10.1159/000439585

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