title: COMT genotype is associated with plasticity in sense of body ownership: a pilot study.
abstract: The sense of body ownership constantly adapts to new environments, and awareness of a distinction between oneself and others is a fundamental ability. However, it remains unclear whether plasticity in the sense of body ownership is dependent on genetic factors. The present study investigated the influence of the catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) Val158Met genotype on illusory learning of a sense of body ownership and dissociation. 76 healthy Japanese participants experienced the rubber hand illusion (RHI), which is produced by sensory integration of conflicting modalities, with the intent to experimentally alter objective perceived locations and subjective ownership ratings. We found that Val/Val homozygous participants had more intense RHI experiences than Val/Met heterozygous and Met homozygous participants. Furthermore, RHI sensation was correlated with a dissociative personality trait in Val/Val homozygous participants. Our findings indicate an interaction between COMT genotype, RHI sensation, and dissociative personality traits: Val/Val genotypes were associated with RHI induction and greater vulnerability to dissociation. The findings suggest that Val/Val homozygous individuals may be more flexible regarding self-attribution/body ownership and that biological factors may contribute to reduced awareness regarding the distinction between self and others.
authors.affiliation: Department of Adult Mental Health, Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, National Institute of Mental Health, National, Tokyo, 187-8502, Japan. mhonma@med.showa-u.ac.jp.|Department of Neurology, Showa University School of Medicine, 1-5-8 Hatanodai, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo, 142-8666, Japan. mhonma@med.showa-u.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Motoyasu
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4612-0115
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Honma
authors.affiliation: Department of Adult Mental Health, Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, National Institute of Mental Health, National, Tokyo, 187-8502, Japan.|Department of Psychiatry, Shiga University of Medical Science, Seta Tsukinowa-cho, Otsu, Shiga, 520-2192, Japan.
authors.forename: Takuya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yoshiike
authors.affiliation: Department of Adult Mental Health, Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, National Institute of Mental Health, National, Tokyo, 187-8502, Japan.|Research Center for Overwork-Related Disorders, National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, Nagao 6-21-1, Tama-Ku, Kawasaki, 214-8585, Japan.
authors.forename: Hiroki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ikeda
authors.affiliation: Department of Adult Mental Health, Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, National Institute of Mental Health, National, Tokyo, 187-8502, Japan.|Department of Psychiatry, Shiga University of Medical Science, Seta Tsukinowa-cho, Otsu, Shiga, 520-2192, Japan.
authors.forename: Kenichi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kuriyama
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002394:Catechol O-Methyltransferase / Q000235:genetics*; D004213:Dissociative Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D007088:Illusions / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D010465:Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D010551:Personality / Q000502:physiology*; D010865:Pilot Projects; D012649:Self Concept; D055698:Touch Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D014796:Visual Perception / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: C588010:COMT protein, human; D002394:Catechol O-Methyltransferase
keywords: Body ownership; COMT genotype; Dissociative personality trait; Plasticity; Rubber hand illusion