Influence of BDNF and COMT polymorphisms on emotional decision making.
Decision making is an important brain function. Although little is known about the genetic basis of decision making, it has been suggested that it is mediated by the modulation of neurotransmitter systems. We investigated how the BDNF Val66Met and COMT Val158Met polymorphisms affect emotional decision making using the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT). One hundred sixty-eight healthy Korean college students (93 males, 75 females) with a complete dataset were included in the data analysis. The IGT and genotyping for the polymorphisms of BDNF Val66Met and COMT Val158Met were performed. Both Met/Met and Val/Met of the BDNF Val66Met polymorphism were significantly associated with a lower mean score of blocks 3-5 of the IGT and with less improvement from block 1 to block 3-5 than the Val/Val. However, the BDNF was not significantly associated with the score of block 1, and the COMT Val158Met polymorphism produced no significant effect on IGT performance. No interaction effect was observed between the BDNF and the COMT for the IGT. These findings suggest the BDNF Val66Met may affect the emotional decision making performance.
Department of Psychiatry and Institute of Behavioral Science in Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea. kji0354@yahoo.co.kr
Jee In
JI
Kang
Kee
K
Namkoong
Ra Yeon
RY
Ha
Kyungun
K
Jhung
Yang Tae
YT
Kim
Se Joo
SJ
Kim
D019208:Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor / Q000235:genetics*; D002394:Catechol O-Methyltransferase / Q000235:genetics*; D003657:Decision Making; D004644:Emotions; D005260:Female; D005715:Gambling; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D007723:Korea; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D055815:Young Adult
D019208:Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor; D002394:Catechol O-Methyltransferase