Bowers Maureen E, Buzzell George A, Salo Virginia, Troller-Renfree Sonya V, Hodgkinson Colin A, Goldman David, Gorodetsky Elena, Martin McDermott Jennifer, Henderson Heather A, Fox Nathan A
Neuroscience and Cognitive Science Program, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA.
Department of Human Development and Quantitative Methodology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA.
Dev Psychobiol. 2020 Mar;62(2):181-190. doi: 10.1002/dev.21901. Epub 2019 Aug 1.
The Val158Met rs4680 single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) at the catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) gene, primarily involved in dopamine breakdown within prefrontal cortex, has shown relations with inhibitory control (IC) in both adults and children. However, little is known about how COMT genotype relates to developmental trajectories of IC throughout childhood. Here, our study explored the effects of the COMT genotype (Val/Val, Val/Met, and Met/Met) on IC trajectories between the ages of 5 and 10 years. Children (n = 222) completed a Go/Nogo task at ages 5, 7, and 10; IC was characterized using signal detection theory to examine IC performance (d') and response strategy (RS) (criterion). COMT genotype was not related to initial levels of IC performance and RS at age 5 or change in RS from ages 5 to 10. In contrast, COMT genotype was related to change in IC performance between 5 and 10 years. While Val/Val children did not differ from Val/Met children in development of IC performance, children with the Met/Met genotype exhibited more rapid development of IC performance when compared with Val/Met peers. These results suggest that COMT genotype modulates the development of IC performance in middle childhood.
儿茶酚-O-甲基转移酶（COMT）基因上的Val158Met rs4680单核苷酸多态性（SNP）主要参与前额叶皮质内多巴胺的分解，已显示出与成人和儿童的抑制控制（IC）有关。然而，关于COMT基因型如何与整个儿童期IC的发育轨迹相关，人们知之甚少。在此，我们的研究探讨了COMT基因型（Val/Val、Val/Met和Met/Met）对5至10岁儿童IC轨迹的影响。222名儿童在5岁、7岁和10岁时完成了一项Go/Nogo任务；使用信号检测理论对IC进行表征，以检查IC表现（d'）和反应策略（RS）（标准）。COMT基因型与5岁时IC表现和RS的初始水平或5至10岁时RS的变化无关。相比之下，COMT基因型与5至10岁之间IC表现的变化有关。虽然Val/Val儿童与Val/Met儿童在IC表现发展方面没有差异，但与Val/Met同龄人相比，Met/Met基因型的儿童IC表现发展更快。这些结果表明，COMT基因型调节童年中期IC表现的发展。
