Oppositional COMT Val158Met effects on resting state functional connectivity in adolescents and adults

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

  • Bernhard M. Meyer - , Medical University of Vienna (Author)
  • Julia Huemer - , Medical University of Vienna (Author)
  • Ulrich Rabl - , Medical University of Vienna (Author)
  • Roland N. Boubela - , Medical University of Vienna (Author)
  • Klaudius Kalcher - , Medical University of Vienna (Author)
  • Andreas Berger - , Medical University of Vienna (Author)
  • Tobias Banaschewski - , Heidelberg University  (Author)
  • Gareth Barker - , King's College London (KCL) (Author)
  • Arun Bokde - , Trinity College Dublin (Author)
  • Christian Büchel - , University of Hamburg (Author)
  • Patricia Conrod - , University of Montreal (Author)
  • Sylvane Desrivières - , King's College London (KCL) (Author)
  • Herta Flor - , Heidelberg University  (Author)
  • Vincent Frouin - , French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) (Author)
  • Jurgen Gallinat - , Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin (Author)
  • Hugh Garavan - , University of Vermont (Author)
  • Andreas Heinz - , Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin (Author)
  • Bernd Ittermann - , Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (Author)
  • Tianye Jia - , King's College London (KCL) (Author)
  • Mark Lathrop - , McGill University (Author)
  • Jean Luc Martinot - , INSERM - Institut national de la santé et de la recherche médicale (Author)
  • Frauke Nees - , Heidelberg University  (Author)
  • Marcella Rietschel - , Heidelberg University  (Author)
  • Michael N. Smolka - , Neuroimaging Center, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy (Author)
  • Lucie Bartova - , Medical University of Vienna (Author)
  • Ana Popovic - , Medical University of Vienna (Author)
  • Christian Scharinger - , Medical University of Vienna (Author)
  • Harald H. Sitte - , Medical University of Vienna (Author)
  • Hans Steiner - , Stanford University (Author)
  • Max H. Friedrich - , Medical University of Vienna (Author)
  • Siegfried Kasper - , Medical University of Vienna (Author)
  • Thomas Perkmann - , Medical University of Vienna (Author)
  • Nicole Praschak-Rieder - , Medical University of Vienna (Author)
  • Helmuth Haslacher - , Medical University of Vienna (Author)
  • Harald Esterbauer - , Medical University of Vienna (Author)
  • Ewald Moser - , Medical University of Vienna (Author)
  • Gunter Schumann - , King's College London (KCL) (Author)
  • Lukas Pezawas - , Medical University of Vienna (Author)

Abstract

Prefrontal dopamine levels are relatively increased in adolescence compared to adulthood. Genetic variation of COMT (COMT Val158Met) results in lower enzymatic activity and higher dopamine availability in Met carriers. Given the dramatic changes of synaptic dopamine during adolescence, it has been suggested that effects of COMT Val158Met genotypes might have oppositional effects in adolescents and adults. The present study aims to identify such oppositional COMT Val158Met effects in adolescents and adults in prefrontal brain networks at rest. Resting state functional connectivity data were collected from cross-sectional and multicenter study sites involving 106 healthy young adults (mean age 24 ± 2.6 years), gender matched to 106 randomly chosen 14-year-olds. We selected the anterior medial prefrontal cortex (amPFC) as seed due to its important role as nexus of the executive control and default mode network. We observed a significant age-dependent reversal of COMT Val158Met effects on resting state functional connectivity between amPFC and ventrolateral as well as dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, and parahippocampal gyrus. Val homozygous adults exhibited increased and adolescents decreased connectivity compared to Met homozygotes for all reported regions. Network analyses underscored the importance of the parahippocampal gyrus as mediator of observed effects. Results of this study demonstrate that adolescent and adult resting state networks are dose-dependently and diametrically affected by COMT genotypes following a hypothetical model of dopamine function that follows an inverted U-shaped curve. This study might provide cues for the understanding of disease onset or dopaminergic treatment mechanisms in major neuropsychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)103-114
Number of pages12
JournalBrain Structure and Function
Volume221
Issue number1
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jan 2016
Peer-reviewedYes

External IDs

PubMed 25319752
ORCID /0000-0001-5398-5569/work/161890796

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Keywords

  • Adolescents, Catechol-O-methyltransferase, Cognition, Dopamine, Functional neuroimaging, Magnetic resonance imaging