COMT-by-sex interaction effect on psychosis proneness.
Schizotypy phenotypes in the general population share etiopathogenic mechanisms and risk factors with schizophrenia, supporting the notion of psychosis as a continuum ranging from nonclinical to clinical deviance. Catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) is a candidate susceptibility gene for schizophrenia that is involved in the regulation of dopamine in the prefrontal cortex. Several recent studies have reported a sex difference in the impact of COMT genotype on psychiatric and cognitive phenotypes and personality traits. The present study investigated the association of COMT Val158Met (rs4680) with psychometric positive and negative schizotypy and psychotic experiences in a sample of 808 nonclinical young adults. The main finding was that sex moderates the association of COMT genotype with the negative dimension of both schizotypy and psychotic experiences. Male subjects carrying the Val allele tended to score higher on the negative dimension of both trait and symptom-like measures. The results from the present study are consistent with recent work suggesting an association between negative schizotypy and diminished prefrontal dopamine availability. They support the idea that a biological differentiation underlies the positive and negative schizotypy dimensions. Additionally, these findings contribute to the growing literature on sex-specific effects of COMT on the predisposition to psychiatric disorders and personality traits.
Unitat d'Antropologia, Departament de Biologia Animal, Facultat de Biologia, Universitat de Barcelona (UB), Avinguda Diagonal 643, 08028 Barcelona, Spain.
Marta
M
de Castro-Catala
Departament de Psicologia Clínica i de la Salut, Facultat de Psicologia, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), Bellaterra, 08193 Barcelona, Spain ; Department of Psychology, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Greensboro, NC 27402-6170, USA ; Sant Pere Claver-Fundació Sanitària, Carrer Vila i Vilà 16, 08004 Barcelona, Spain ; Centre for Biomedical Research Network on Mental Health (CIBERSAM), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, 28029 Madrid, Spain.
Neus
N
Barrantes-Vidal
Departament de Psicologia Clínica i de la Salut, Facultat de Psicologia, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), Bellaterra, 08193 Barcelona, Spain.
Tamara
T
Sheinbaum
Unitat d'Antropologia, Departament de Biologia Animal, Facultat de Biologia, Universitat de Barcelona (UB), Avinguda Diagonal 643, 08028 Barcelona, Spain ; Institute of Inflammation and Repair, University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PL, UK.
Artal
A
Moreno-Fortuny
Department of Psychology, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Greensboro, NC 27402-6170, USA.
Thomas R
TR
Kwapil
Unitat d'Antropologia, Departament de Biologia Animal, Facultat de Biologia, Universitat de Barcelona (UB), Avinguda Diagonal 643, 08028 Barcelona, Spain ; Centre for Biomedical Research Network on Mental Health (CIBERSAM), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, 28029 Madrid, Spain.
Araceli
A
Rosa
D000328:Adult; D000483:Alleles; D002394:Catechol O-Methyltransferase / Q000235:genetics*; D004298:Dopamine / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D011618:Psychotic Disorders / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D055815:Young Adult
C588010:COMT protein, human; D002394:Catechol O-Methyltransferase; D004298:Dopamine