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Differential effect of catechol-O-methyltransferase Val158Met genotype on emotional recognition abilities in healthy men and women

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 May 2007

ELISABETH M. WEISS ,
EDITH STADELMANN ,
CHRISTIAN G. KOHLER ,
COLLEEN M. BRENSINGER ,
KAREN A. NOLAN ,
HERBERT OBERACHER ,
WALTHER PARSON ,
FLORIAN PITTERL ,
HARALD NIEDERSTÄTTER  and
GEORG KEMMLER
...Show all authors
ELISABETH M. WEISS
Affiliation:
Department of General Psychiatry, Innsbruck Medical, Innsbruck, Austria
EDITH STADELMANN
Affiliation:
Department of General Psychiatry, Innsbruck Medical, Innsbruck, Austria
CHRISTIAN G. KOHLER
Affiliation:
Neuropsychiatry Section, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
COLLEEN M. BRENSINGER
Affiliation:
Center for Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics; University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
KAREN A. NOLAN
Affiliation:
Nathan S. Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, New York
HERBERT OBERACHER
Affiliation:
Institute of Legal Medicine, Innsbruck Medical University, Innsbruck, Austria
WALTHER PARSON
Affiliation:
Institute of Legal Medicine, Innsbruck Medical University, Innsbruck, Austria
FLORIAN PITTERL
Affiliation:
Institute of Legal Medicine, Innsbruck Medical University, Innsbruck, Austria
HARALD NIEDERSTÄTTER
Affiliation:
Institute of Legal Medicine, Innsbruck Medical University, Innsbruck, Austria
GEORG KEMMLER
Affiliation:
Department of General Psychiatry, Innsbruck Medical, Innsbruck, Austria
HARTMANN HINTERHUBER
Affiliation:
Department of General Psychiatry, Innsbruck Medical, Innsbruck, Austria
JOSEF MARKSTEINER
Affiliation:
Department of General Psychiatry, Innsbruck Medical, Innsbruck, Austria
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Abstract

The catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) Val158Met polymorphism modulates executive functions and working memory and recent neuroimaging studies implicate an association with emotional processing. We examined the relationship between the COMT Val158Met polymorphism and facial emotion recognition and differentiation in 100 healthy individuals. Compared to Met homozygosity, Val homozygosity was associated with better and faster recognition of negative facial expressions such as anger and sad. Our study provides evidence for a possible influence of the COMT polymorphism on emotion recognition abilities in healthy subjects. Additional research is needed to further define the neurocognitive phenotypes associated with COMT polymorphisms. (JINS, 2007, 13, 881–887.)

Keywords

GeneticCognitionGenderNeuropsychologyEmotionGenetic Polymorphism
Type
BRIEF COMMUNICATION
Information
Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society , Volume 13 , Issue 5 , September 2007 , pp. 881 - 887
Copyright
2007 The International Neuropsychological Society

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