title: Positive symptoms in first-episode psychosis patients experiencing low maternal care and stressful life events: a pilot study to explore the role of the COMT gene.
abstract: COMT Val(158)Met moderates the effect of stress on psychotic symptoms. Exposure to stress is also associated with mesolimbic dopamine release in individuals experiencing low maternal care. We therefore test the hypothesis that recent stressful life events are associated with more severe positive symptoms (associated with mesolimbic dopamine release) in first-episode psychosis (FEP) patients who experienced low maternal care during childhood. We hypothesized that COMT Val(158)Met moderates this association. A total of 149 FEP patients recruited within the Psychosis Incident Cohort Outcome Study (PICOS) participated in the present study. Maternal care was assessed by the Parental Bonding Instrument (PBI), stressful life events were collected by the List of Events Scale and positive symptoms were assessed by the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS). We found that low maternal care and recent stressful life events were associated with higher level of positive symptoms at the onset (analysis of variance [ANOVA], p = 0.012), and that patients who were also homozygotes for the COMT Val(158) allele had the highest level of positive symptoms (ANOVA, p = 0.024). Low maternal care and severe stressful life events may contribute to a symptomatology characterized by more severe positive symptoms at the onset, possibly due to an increased mesolimbic dopamine release. Homozygosity for the COMT Val(158) allele seems to confer a biological predisposition to the stress-related hyperactivity of the mesolimbic dopaminergic system. The data imply that the mesolimbic dopaminergic system is involved in the mediation/modulation of the effect of stressful events on the vulnerability for psychosis.
authors: Department of Public Health and Community Medicine, Section of Psychiatry, University of Verona , Verona , Italy .
authors: Elisa
authors: E
authors: Ira
authors: Katia
authors: K
authors: De Santi
authors: Antonio
authors: A
authors: Lasalvia
authors: Chiara
authors: C
authors: Bonetto
authors: Gioia
authors: G
authors: Zanatta
authors: Doriana
authors: D
authors: Cristofalo
authors: Mariaelena
authors: M
authors: Bertani
authors: Sarah Saviana
authors: SS
authors: Bissoli
authors: Rossana
authors: R
authors: Riolo
authors: Francesco
authors: F
authors: Gardellin
authors: Idana
authors: I
authors: Morandin
authors: Luana
authors: L
authors: Ramon
authors: Michele
authors: M
authors: Tansella
authors: Mirella
authors: M
authors: Ruggeri
authors: Sarah
authors: S
authors: Tosato
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000483:Alleles; D002394:Catechol O-Methyltransferase / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D006801:Humans; D008016:Life Change Events; D008297:Male; D008425:Maternal Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D009034:Mother-Child Relations / Q000523:psychology*; D010865:Pilot Projects; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; D011618:Psychotic Disorders / Q000235:genetics / Q000523:psychology*; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000235:genetics / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: C588010:COMT protein, human; D002394:Catechol O-Methyltransferase
keywords: COMT; first-episode psychosis; parental bonding; stressful events