title: Working memory plasticity modulated by dopamine transporter genotype.
abstract: Dopamine (DA) is implicated in working memory (WM) functioning. Variations in the DA transporter (DAT1) gene (SLC6A3) regulate DA availability in striatum. Compared to DAT1 9/10-repeat carriers, homozygosity of the DAT1 10-repeat allele has been related to less active dopaminergic pathways. A group of younger adults received 4 weeks of computerized adaptive training on several WM tasks. All participants improved their performance as a function of training. However, DAT1 9/10-repeat carriers showed larger training-related gains than DAT1 10-repeat carriers in visuospatial WM. By contrast, the two groups were indistinguishable in baseline WM performance as well as in a variety of tasks assessing different cognitive abilities. This pattern of results provides novel evidence that WM plasticity is a more sensitive indicator of DAT1 gene-related cognitive differences than single-assessment performance scores.
authors.affiliation: Aging Research Center, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden. Yvonne.Brehmer@ki.se
authors.forename: Yvonne
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Brehmer
authors.forename: Helena
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Westerberg
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bellander
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Fürth
authors.forename: Sari
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Karlsson
authors.forename: Lars
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bäckman
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D050483:Dopamine Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D005838:Genotype; D006579:Heterozygote; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008570:Memory, Short-Term / Q000502:physiology*; D009473:Neuronal Plasticity / Q000502:physiology*; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic; D013037:Spatial Behavior; D014705:Verbal Behavior; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D050483:Dopamine Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins; C493214:SLC6A3 protein, human