title: Interactive effects of age and multi-gene profile on motor learning and sensorimotor adaptation.
abstract: The interactive association of age and dopaminergic polymorphisms on cognitive function has been studied extensively. However, there is limited research on whether age interacts with the association between genetic polymorphisms and motor learning. We examined a group of young and older adults' performance in three motor tasks: explicit sequence learning, visuomotor adaptation, and grooved pegboard. We assessed whether individuals' motor learning and performance were associated with their age and genotypes. We selected three genetic polymorphisms: Catechol-O-Methyl Transferase (COMT val158met) and Dopamine D2 Receptor (DRD2 G>T), which are involved with dopaminergic regulation, and Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF val66met) that modulates neuroplasticity and has been shown to interact with dopaminergic genes. Although the underlying mechanisms of the function of these three genotypes are different, the high performance alleles of each have been linked to better learning and performance. We created a composite polygene score based on the Number of High Performance Alleles (NHPA) that each individual carried. We found several associations between genetic profile, motor performance, and sensorimotor adaptation. More importantly, we found that this association varies with age, task type, and engagement of implicit versus explicit learning processes.
authors.affiliation: School of Kinesiology, University of Michigan, 1402 Washington Heights, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, United States; Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, 530 Church Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, United States. Electronic address: fnoohi@umich.edu.
authors.forename: Fatemeh
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Noohi
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, 530 Church Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, United States. Electronic address: boyden@umich.edu.
authors.forename: Nate B
authors.initials: NB
authors.lastname: Boyden
authors.affiliation: Neuroscience Program, University of Michigan, 4137 Undergraduate Science Building, 204 Washtenaw Avenue, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, United States. Electronic address: youngbin@umass.edu.
authors.forename: Youngbin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kwak
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, 530 Church Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, United States. Electronic address: jennfleet@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Humfleet
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, University of Michigan, 1500 E. Medical Center Drive, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, United States. Electronic address: mtmuller@umich.edu.
authors.forename: Martijn L T M
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Müller
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, University of Michigan, 1500 E. Medical Center Drive, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, United States; Department of Neurology, University of Michigan, 1500 E. Medical Center Drive, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, United States; Neurology Service and GRECC, VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System, University of Michigan, 2215 Fuller Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105, United States. Electronic address: nbohnen@umich.edu.
authors.forename: Nicolaas I
authors.initials: NI
authors.lastname: Bohnen
authors.affiliation: School of Kinesiology, University of Michigan, 1402 Washington Heights, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, United States; Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, 530 Church Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, United States; Neuroscience Program, University of Michigan, 4137 Undergraduate Science Building, 204 Washtenaw Avenue, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, United States; Institute of Gerontology, University of Michigan, 1500 E. Medical Center Drive, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, United States. Electronic address: rseidler@umich.edu.
authors.forename: Rachael D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Seidler
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological / Q000502:physiology*; D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology / Q000523:psychology*; D019208:Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor / Q000235:genetics*; D002394:Catechol O-Methyltransferase / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D060005:Genotyping Techniques; D006801:Humans; D007858:Learning / Q000502:physiology*; D008609:Mental Status Schedule; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology; D011930:Reaction Time; D017448:Receptors, Dopamine D2 / Q000235:genetics*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D019208:Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor; C581293:DRD2 protein, human; D017448:Receptors, Dopamine D2; C579455:BDNF protein, human; C588010:COMT protein, human; D002394:Catechol O-Methyltransferase
keywords: Aging; BDNF; COMT; DRD2; Sequence learning; Visuomotor adaptation