title: Polymorphic variation in CHAT gene modulates general cognitive ability: An association study with random student cohort.
abstract: The choline O-acetyltransferase (CHAT) gene has been associated with various human disorders that involve cognitive impairment or deficiency. However, the influence of disease-associated variants of CHAT on normal individuals remains dubious. Here we demonstrated the impact of CHAT sequence variants (G-120A) on general human cognitive ability in a cohort of 750 Chinese undergraduate students. A multiple choice questionnaire was used to obtain basic demographic information, such as parents' occupations and education levels. We also administered and scored the Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices (RSPM). A one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Kruskal-Wallis test (K-W) revealed a significant association between sequence polymorphisms of G-120A and individuals' Raven score (p=0.031 for ANOVA and p=0.026 for K-W tests). Moreover, further hierarchical analysis showed a similar trend in the association between G-120A variants and Raven scores only in the female subjects (p=0.008 for ANOVA and p=0.024 for K-W tests) but not in the male subjects. The results of a multiple linear regression confirmed that after we controlled gender, age, birthplace and other non-genetic factors, CHAT G-120A polymorphisms still significantly influenced individual Raven scores (B=-0.70, SE=0.28, t=-2.50, p=0.013). Our results demonstrated that sequence variants of CHAT were associated with human cognitive ability in not only patients with psychiatric disorders but also normal healthy individuals. However, some issues remained indeterminable, such as gender differences and the extent of the influence on individuals' general cognitive abilities; thus, the further research using an independent random sample was required.
authors: Key Laboratory of Resource Biology and Biotechnology in Western China (Ministry of Education), Institute of Population and Health, College of Life Science, Northwest University, Xi'an 710069, China.
authors: Xu
authors: X
authors: Liu
authors: Key Laboratory of Resource Biology and Biotechnology in Western China (Ministry of Education), Institute of Population and Health, College of Life Science, Northwest University, Xi'an 710069, China.
authors: Yuanyu
authors: Y
authors: Shi
authors: Key Laboratory of Resource Biology and Biotechnology in Western China (Ministry of Education), Institute of Population and Health, College of Life Science, Northwest University, Xi'an 710069, China.
authors: Binbin
authors: B
authors: Niu
authors: Key Laboratory of Resource Biology and Biotechnology in Western China (Ministry of Education), Institute of Population and Health, College of Life Science, Northwest University, Xi'an 710069, China.
authors: Zhangyan
authors: Z
authors: Shi
authors: Key Laboratory of Resource Biology and Biotechnology in Western China (Ministry of Education), Institute of Population and Health, College of Life Science, Northwest University, Xi'an 710069, China.
authors: Junlin
authors: J
authors: Li
authors: Key Laboratory of Resource Biology and Biotechnology in Western China (Ministry of Education), Institute of Population and Health, College of Life Science, Northwest University, Xi'an 710069, China.
authors: Zhe
authors: Z
authors: Ma
authors: Department of Applied Psychology, Institute of Applied Psychology, College of Public Management, Northwest University, Xi'an 710069, China.
authors: Jian
authors: J
authors: Wang
authors: Key Laboratory of Resource Biology and Biotechnology in Western China (Ministry of Education), Institute of Population and Health, College of Life Science, Northwest University, Xi'an 710069, China.
authors: Pingyuan
authors: P
authors: Gong
authors: Department of Applied Psychology, Institute of Applied Psychology, College of Public Management, Northwest University, Xi'an 710069, China.
authors: Anyun
authors: A
authors: Zheng
authors: Key Laboratory of Resource Biology and Biotechnology in Western China (Ministry of Education), Institute of Population and Health, College of Life Science, Northwest University, Xi'an 710069, China; Department of Applied Psychology, Institute of Applied Psychology, College of Public Management, Northwest University, Xi'an 710069, China.
authors: Fuchang
authors: F
authors: Zhang
authors: Key Laboratory of Resource Biology and Biotechnology in Western China (Ministry of Education), Institute of Population and Health, College of Life Science, Northwest University, Xi'an 710069, China; Department of Applied Psychology, Institute of Applied Psychology, College of Public Management, Northwest University, Xi'an 710069, China. Electronic address: gaoxc@nwu.edu.cn.
authors: Xiaocai
authors: X
authors: Gao
authors: Key Laboratory of Resource Biology and Biotechnology in Western China (Ministry of Education), Institute of Population and Health, College of Life Science, Northwest University, Xi'an 710069, China. Electronic address: zhangkj@nwu.edu.cn.
authors: Kejin
authors: K
authors: Zhang
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002795:Choline O-Acetyltransferase / Q000235:genetics*; D003071:Cognition; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D056726:Genetic Association Studies; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012737:Sex Factors; D013334:Students; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D002795:Choline O-Acetyltransferase
keywords: Choline O-acetyltransferase (CHAT); General cognitive abilities; Genetic polymorphisms; Raven’s Standard Progressive Matrices (RSPM)