Reinvang Ivar, Lundervold Astri J, Rootwelt Helge, Wehling Eike, Espeseth Thomas
Center for Study of Human Cognition, Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Norway.
Neurosci Lett. 2009 Apr 10;453(3):131-4. doi: 10.1016/j.neulet.2009.02.029. Epub 2009 Feb 21.
Cholinergic influences on attention are well documented and recent evidence indicates that genetic variation in the alpha4beta2 nicotinic receptor affects attentional networks of the brain. Several behavioral and electrophysiological studies have shown that a common polymorphism in the CHRNA4 gene (rs1044396) affects aspects of visual and auditory attentional processing. We examined genetic effects on neuropsychological measures of memory and attention in an adult life-span sample (N=488). TT homozygotes perform speed and attention tasks more slowly than TC or CC allele carriers, with stronger effects on complex attention tasks in participant 70-79 years of age. There are no parallel effects on memory function. The results are consistent with clinical studies indicating that reduction in nicotinic receptor efficiency affects attention and speed, but not memory. Both normal age-related changes in receptor function and incipient pathology may have contributed to the results.
胆碱能对注意力的影响已有充分记录，最近的证据表明，α4β2烟碱型受体的基因变异会影响大脑的注意力网络。多项行为学和电生理学研究表明，CHRNA4基因（rs1044396）中的一种常见多态性会影响视觉和听觉注意力加工的各个方面。我们在一个成年寿命样本（N = 488）中研究了基因对记忆和注意力的神经心理学测量指标的影响。TT纯合子在速度和注意力任务上的表现比TC或CC等位基因携带者更慢，对70 - 79岁参与者的复杂注意力任务影响更强。对记忆功能没有类似影响。这些结果与临床研究一致，表明烟碱型受体效率降低会影响注意力和速度，但不会影响记忆。受体功能的正常年龄相关变化和初期病理状态可能都对结果有所影响。
