title: Synergistic effects of COMT and TPH2 on social cognition.
abstract: Whether genetic factors affect social cognition, particularly emotion management, requires elucidation. This study investigates whether social cognition varies with genetic variations of COMT and tryptophan hydroxylase-2 (TPH2), which modulate dopamine and serotonin neurotransmissions respectively, and thereby emotion regulation. NIMH-recommended "managing emotions branch and 2 subtasks" of MSCEIT and six neurocognition domains, and genotypes of COMT Val158Met and TPH2 G703T were measured in 150 Han-Chinese healthy adults. Subjects carrying the M allele (M group) of COMT exceeded Val/Val homozygotes (V group) in managing emotions branch (p = 0.032) and emotional relation subtask (p = 0.037). TPH2 T/T homozygotes (T group) excelled those with the G allele (G group) in emotional management subtask (p = 0.025). Subjects with M+T variation surpassed the other 3 groups (M+G, V+T and V+G) in managing emotion branch (p = 0.002), emotional relation subtask (p = 0.023), and emotional management subtask (p = 0.002). The findings remained after control for gender, age, education, and neurocognitive functions. Synergistically, the effect size of COMT-TPH2 combination surmounted the sum of separate effect sizes of COMT and TPH2. The findings suggest that genetic variations of COMT and TPH2 have synergistic effects on social cognition in the general population.
authors: Institute of Clinical Medical Science, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan.
authors: Chieh-Hsin
authors: CH
authors: Lin
authors: Yu-Lun
authors: YL
authors: Tseng
authors: Chieh-Liang
authors: CL
authors: Huang
authors: Yue-Cune
authors: YC
authors: Chang
authors: Guochuan E
authors: GE
authors: Tsai
authors: Hsien-Yuan
authors: HY
authors: Lane
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000483:Alleles; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D002394:Catechol O-Methyltransferase / Q000235:genetics*; D002681:China; D004298:Dopamine / Q000502:physiology; D056348:Emotional Intelligence / Q000235:genetics*; D004644:Emotions / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000235:genetics*; D060005:Genotyping Techniques / Q000379:methods; D006720:Homozygote; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008957:Models, Genetic; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D010552:Personality Assessment / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic / Q000235:genetics; D012701:Serotonin / Q000502:physiology; D012938:Social Perception; D014365:Tryptophan Hydroxylase / Q000235:genetics*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D012701:Serotonin; C494784:TPH2 protein, human; D014365:Tryptophan Hydroxylase; D002394:Catechol O-Methyltransferase; D004298:Dopamine