title: The roles of COMT val158met status and aviation expertise in flight simulator performance and cognitive ability.
abstract: The polymorphic variation in the val158met position of the catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) gene is associated with differences in executive performance, processing speed, and attention. The purpose of this study is: (1) replicate previous COMT val158met findings on cognitive performance; (2) determine whether COMT val158met effects extend to a real-world task, aircraft navigation performance in a flight simulator; and (3) determine if aviation expertise moderates any effect of COMT val158met status on flight simulator performance. One hundred seventy two pilots aged 41-69 years, who varied in level of aviation training and experience, completed flight simulator, cognitive, and genetic assessments. Results indicate that although no COMT effect was found for an overall measure of flight performance, a positive effect of the met allele was detected for two aspects of cognitive ability: executive functioning and working memory performance. Pilots with the met/met genotype benefited more from increased levels of expertise than other participants on a traffic avoidance measure, which is a component of flight simulator performance. These preliminary results indicate that COMT val158met polymorphic variation can affect a real-world task.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305-5550, USA. quinnk@stanford.edu
authors.forename: Q
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Kennedy
authors.forename: J L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Taylor
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Noda
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Adamson
authors.forename: G M
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Murphy
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Zeitzer
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Yesavage
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000401:Aircraft; D001359:Aviation / Q000379:methods*; D002394:Catechol O-Methyltransferase / Q000235:genetics*; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology*; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000235:genetics; D003198:Computer Simulation; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008715:Methionine / Q000235:genetics; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic; D014633:Valine / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D008715:Methionine; D002394:Catechol O-Methyltransferase; D014633:Valine