Grant Jon E, Leppink Eric W, Redden Sarah A, Odlaug Brian L, Chamberlain Samuel R
Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA.
Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA.
J Psychiatr Res. 2015 Sep;68:371-6. doi: 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2015.04.029. Epub 2015 May 9.
Neuropsychological studies of adults with problem gambling indicate impairments across multiple cognitive domains. Catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) plays a unique role in the regulation of dopamine in the prefrontal cortex, and has been implicated in the cognitive dysfunction evident in problem gambling. This study examined adults with varying levels of gambling behavior to determine whether COMT genotype was associated with differences in gambling symptoms and cognitive functioning. 260 non-treatment-seeking adults aged 18-29 years with varying degrees of gambling behavior provided saliva samples for genotyping COMT val158met (rs4680). All subjects underwent clinical evaluations and neurocognitive assessment of decision-making, working memory, and impulsivity. The Val/Val COMT genotype was associated with the largest percentage of subjects with gambling disorder (31.8%), a rate significantly different from the Val/Met (13.2%) group (p = 0.001). The Val/Val COMT group was also associated with significantly more gambling disorder diagnostic criteria being met, greater frequency of gambling behavior, and significantly worse cognitive performance on the Cambridge Gamble Task (risk adjustment and delay aversion) and the Spatial Working Memory task (total errors). This study adds to the growing literature on the role of COMT in impulsive behaviors by showing that the Val/Val genotype was associated with specific clinical and cognitive elements among young adults who gamble, in the absence of differences on demographic measures and other cognitive domains. Future work should consider using genotyping to explore whether certain polymorphisms predict subsequent development of impulsive behaviors including gambling disorder, and treatment outcomes.
对患有问题赌博的成年人进行的神经心理学研究表明，多个认知领域存在损伤。儿茶酚-O-甲基转移酶（COMT）在额叶前皮质多巴胺调节中发挥独特作用，并与问题赌博中明显的认知功能障碍有关。本研究对具有不同赌博行为水平的成年人进行了检查，以确定COMT基因型是否与赌博症状和认知功能的差异相关。260名年龄在18至29岁之间、具有不同程度赌博行为且未寻求治疗的成年人提供了唾液样本，用于COMT val158met（rs4680）基因分型。所有受试者都接受了临床评估以及决策、工作记忆和冲动性方面的神经认知评估。Val/Val COMT基因型与患有赌博障碍的受试者比例最高（31.8%）相关，这一比例与Val/Met组（13.2%）有显著差异（p = 0.001）。Val/Val COMT组还与满足更多赌博障碍诊断标准、更高频率的赌博行为以及在剑桥赌博任务（风险调整和延迟厌恶）和空间工作记忆任务（总错误数）上显著更差的认知表现相关。这项研究通过表明Val/Val基因型与赌博的年轻成年人中的特定临床和认知因素相关，而在人口统计学指标和其他认知领域没有差异，从而为关于COMT在冲动行为中的作用的文献增添了内容。未来的工作应考虑使用基因分型来探索某些多态性是否能预测包括赌博障碍在内的冲动行为的后续发展以及治疗结果。
