QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

HOME  |   SEARCH  |   ARCHIVE  |   SUBSCRIBE  |   CONTACT  |   HELP

The Journal of Neuroscience, April 12, 2006, 26(15):3918-3922; doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.4975-05.2006

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Supplemental data Submit an eLetter Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in ISI Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via ISI Web of Science (35) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Bertolino, A. Articles by Dallapiccola, B. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Bertolino, A. Articles by Dallapiccola, B. Pubmed/NCBI databases Gene GEO Profiles HomoloGene UniGene Compound via MeSH Substance via MeSH Hazardous Substances DB DOPAMINE Genetics Home Reference Medline Plus Health Information Memory

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Brief Communications
Additive Effects of Genetic Variation in Dopamine Regulating Genes on Working Memory Cortical Activity in Human Brain

Alessandro Bertolino,^1,3,4 Giuseppe Blasi,^1,3 Valeria Latorre,¹ Valeria Rubino,¹ Antonio Rampino,¹ Lorenzo Sinibaldi,^2,6 Grazia Caforio,¹ Vittoria Petruzzella,² Antonio Pizzuti,^5,6 Tommaso Scarabino,⁴ Marcello Nardini,¹ Daniel R. Weinberger,³ and Bruno Dallapiccola^5,6

¹Psychiatric Neuroscience Group, Section on Mental Disorders, Department of Neurological and Psychiatric Sciences, and ²Department of Medical Biochemistry and Medical Biology, University of Bari, 70124 Bari, Italy, ³Genes, Cognition, and Psychosis Program, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892, ⁴Department of Neuroradiology, Istituto di Ricovero e Cura e Carrattere Scientifico "Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza," 71013 San Giovanni Rotondo (Foggia), Italy, ⁵IRCCS-CSS Mendel, 00198 Rome, Italy, and ⁶Department of Experimental Medicine and Pathology, University La Sapienza, 00100 Rome, Italy

Correspondence should be addressed to Dr. Alessandro Bertolino, Dipartimento di Scienze Neurologiche e Psichiatriche, Universita’ degli Studi di Bari, Piazza Giulio Cesare, 9, 70124 Bari, Italy. Email: bertolia{at}psichiat.uniba.it

Functional polymorphisms in the catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) and the dopamine transporter (DAT) genes modulate dopamine inactivation, which is crucial for determining neuronal signal-to-noise ratios in prefrontal cortex during working memory. We show that the COMT Met¹⁵⁸ allele and the DAT 3' variable number of tandem repeat 10-repeat allele are independently associated in healthy humans with more focused neuronal activity (as measured with blood oxygen level-dependent functional magnetic resonance imaging) in the working memory cortical network, including the prefrontal cortex. Moreover, subjects homozygous for the COMT Met allele and the DAT 10-repeat allele have the most focused response, whereas the COMT Val and the DAT 9-repeat alleles have the least. These results demonstrate additive genetic effects of genes regulating dopamine signaling on specific neuronal networks subserving working memory.

Key words: dorsolateral prefrontal cortex; anterior cingulate; working memory; dopamine; catechol-O-methyltransferase; dopamine transporter

---

Received Nov. 22, 2005; revised Jan. 30, 2006; accepted Feb. 27, 2006.

Correspondence should be addressed to Dr. Alessandro Bertolino, Dipartimento di Scienze Neurologiche e Psichiatriche, Universita’ degli Studi di Bari, Piazza Giulio Cesare, 9, 70124 Bari, Italy. Email: bertolia{at}psichiat.uniba.it

This article has been cited by other articles:

				A. Bertolino, L. Fazio, G. Caforio, G. Blasi, A. Rampino, R. Romano, A. Di Giorgio, P. Taurisano, A. Papp, J. Pinsonneault, et al. Functional variants of the dopamine receptor D2 gene modulate prefronto-striatal phenotypes in schizophrenia Brain, October 1, 2008; (2008) awn248v1. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				S. J. Bishop, J. Fossella, C. J. Croucher, and J. Duncan COMT val158met Genotype Affects Recruitment of Neural Mechanisms Supporting Fluid Intelligence Cereb Cortex, September 1, 2008; 18(9): 2132 - 2140. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				R. Cools Role of Dopamine in the Motivational and Cognitive Control of Behavior Neuroscientist, August 1, 2008; 14(4): 381 - 395. [Abstract] [PDF]

				Y. Zhang, A. Bertolino, L. Fazio, G. Blasi, A. Rampino, R. Romano, M.-L. T. Lee, T. Xiao, A. Papp, D. Wang, et al. Polymorphisms in human dopamine D2 receptor gene affect gene expression, splicing, and neuronal activity during working memory PNAS, December 18, 2007; 104(51): 20552 - 20557. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				H.-Y. Tan, Q. Chen, T. E. Goldberg, V. S. Mattay, A. Meyer-Lindenberg, D. R. Weinberger, and J. H. Callicott Catechol-O-Methyltransferase Val158Met Modulation of Prefrontal Parietal Striatal Brain Systems during Arithmetic and Temporal Transformations in Working Memory J. Neurosci., December 5, 2007; 27(49): 13393 - 13401. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				H.-Y. Tan, Q. Chen, S. Sust, J. W. Buckholtz, J. D. Meyers, M. F. Egan, V. S. Mattay, A. Meyer-Lindenberg, D. R. Weinberger, and J. H. Callicott Epistasis between catechol-O-methyltransferase and type II metabotropic glutamate receptor 3 genes on working memory brain function PNAS, July 24, 2007; 104(30): 12536 - 12541. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. Yacubian, T. Sommer, K. Schroeder, J. Glascher, R. Kalisch, B. Leuenberger, D. F. Braus, and C. Buchel Gene gene interaction associated with neural reward sensitivity PNAS, May 8, 2007; 104(19): 8125 - 8130. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				C. R. A. Mondadori, A. Buchmann, H. Mustovic, C. F. Schmidt, P. Boesiger, R. M. Nitsch, C. Hock, J. Streffer, and K. Henke Enhanced brain activity may precede the diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease by 30 years Brain, November 1, 2006; 129(11): 2908 - 2922. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home  |   Search  |   Archive  |   Subscribe  |   Contact  |   Help