Department of Psychology and Neuroscience Nova Southeastern University Fort Lauderdale FL USA.
Department of Clinical and School Psychology Nova Southeastern University Fort Lauderdale FL USA.
Brain Behav. 2018 Jan 18;8(2):e00883. doi: 10.1002/brb3.883. eCollection 2018 Feb.
We tested the extent to which the catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) Val158Met polymorphism is associated with affective state and evening cortisol levels. We limited our study to women as previous research suggests that the link between COMT genotype and psychological health is entangled by sex differences.
The participants were assessed on measures of anxiety, mood disturbance, depressive symptomatology, and perceived stress. We also evaluated participants on a quality of life measures that included two emotion domains and two physical domains (physical health and environment).
We found that under normal (nonstress) conditions, the COMT A allele (Met carriers, higher dopamine) associates with healthier affect and lower afternoon cortisol levels in women. These effects were limited to affective measures and not to physical or environmental quality of life.
These findings help to shed light on the complex nature of COMT and emotion, and suggest that both sex and task condition (stress vs. nonstress) should be considered when examining the relationship between COMT genotype and emotion.
我们测试了儿茶酚-O-甲基转移酶（COMT）Val158Met 多态性与情感状态和傍晚皮质醇水平之间的关联程度。我们将研究仅限于女性，因为先前的研究表明，COMT 基因型与心理健康之间的联系受到性别差异的影响。
参与者接受了焦虑、情绪障碍、抑郁症状和感知压力的评估。我们还评估了参与者的生活质量，包括两个情感领域和两个物理领域（身体健康和环境）。
我们发现，在正常（非应激）条件下，COMT A 等位基因（Met 携带者，多巴胺水平较高）与女性更健康的情绪和下午皮质醇水平较低有关。这些影响仅限于情感测量，而不是身体或环境生活质量。
这些发现有助于揭示 COMT 和情绪的复杂性质，并表明在研究 COMT 基因型与情绪之间的关系时，应该同时考虑性别和任务条件（应激与非应激）。
