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10-04 Identifying markers of negative mood: the gender-specific influence of COMT and MAO-A polymorphisms on emotion processing

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 June 2014

SA Kuan ,
JM Gatt ,
C Dobson-Stone ,
RH Paul ,
PR Schofield ,
E Gordon  and
LM Williams
SA Kuan
Affiliation:
The Brain Dynamics Centre, Westmead Millennium Institute, Westmead Hospital and Western Clinical School, University of Sydney, Australia
JM Gatt
Affiliation:
The Brain Dynamics Centre, Westmead Millennium Institute, Westmead Hospital and Western Clinical School, University of Sydney, Australia
C Dobson-Stone
Affiliation:
Prince of Wales Medical Research and Garvan Institutes, Australia
RH Paul
Affiliation:
Brown Medical School, Rhode Island, USA
PR Schofield
Affiliation:
Prince of Wales Medical Research and Garvan Institutes, Australia
E Gordon
Affiliation:
The Brain Resource International Database (The Brain Resource Company), Australia
LM Williams
Affiliation:
The Brain Dynamics Centre, Westmead Millennium Institute, Westmead Hospital and Western Clinical School, University of Sydney, Australia
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Abstract

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Type
Abstracts from ‘Brainwaves’— The Australasian Society for Psychiatric Research Annual Meeting 2006, 6–8 December, Sydney, Australia
Information
Acta Neuropsychiatrica , Volume 18 , Issue 6 , December 2006 , pp. 337
Copyright
Copyright © 2006 Blackwell Munksgaard

Background:

Our integrative neuroscience model of emotion processing proposes that the effects of genetic polymorphisms on emotional function and risk for disorders of negative affect may vary with gender. The COMT Met allele has been related to anxiety traits (in women), while MAO-A genotypes have been linked to anxiety and phobic disorders (in women) and increased aggression (in men). Using a facial emotion perception task, we examined the role of neuroimaging endophenotypes in the association between COMT, MAO-A and negative mood, and the moderating effects of gender.

Methods:

About 273 healthy subjects from the Brain Resource International Database provided data from cheek swabs (for genotyping). We assessed mood and temperament (using DASS and NEO), and emotion-related brain function (using event-related potential recording).

Results:

COMT heterozygotes (V/M) were associated with higher neuroticism, and reduced and delayed neural responses to emotion in women. By contrast, while the MAO-A genotype showed no direct effects on negative mood, the high-activity alleles were associated with faster and greater responses to emotion in men.

Conclusions:

The gender-related dissociation in the impact of COMT and MAO-A on emotion processing and negative mood suggests that these variants contribute to the differential expression of mood disorders in men and women. Integrative genotype-endophenotype makers may offer promise as a tool to aid in early identification of vulnerability to mood disorder and the selection of optimal treatments.