[Investigation of association of the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and a serotonin receptor 2A (5-HTR2A) genes with voluntary and involuntary attention in schizophrenia].

To investigate the effect of Val66Met BDNF and 5-HTR2A T102C polymorphisms on the characteristics of voluntary and involuntary visual attention, 89 patients with schizophrenia, 91 their well relatives and 163 controls have been studied. Attention was assessed using a modified version of the Munsterberg test. The significant interaction effect of the BDNF, 5-HTR2A and diagnosis on attention characteristics was found (p=0,04). Carriers of the Val/Val genotype demonstrated higher scores of both voluntary and involuntary attention and those with the A1 (T) allele needed more time for the performance of the test. The combination of the A1 allele with a Met BDNF allele was associated with lower scores of voluntary attention and higher scores of involuntary attention. The study confirmed the impairment of selective attention in patients with schizophrenia and their relatives while any pathological changes in involuntary attention were not observed. The effect of genotypes was presented irrespective of diagnostic group studied. The data obtained suggest that carriers of the Val/Val genotype are able to allocate more attentional resources to process external stimuli. At the same time, the possibility that this polymorphism is likely associated with specific visual-spatial abilities than with attention as such or general cognitive resources can not be excluded.