Catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) genotype affects age-related changes in plasticity in working memory: a pilot study
- Objectives. Recent work suggests that a genetic variation associated with increased dopamine metabolism in the prefrontal cortex (catechol-O-methyltransferase Val158Met; COMT) amplifies age-related changes in working memory performance. Research on younger adults indicates that the influence of dopamine-related genetic polymorphisms on working memory performance increases when testing the cognitive limits through training. To date, this has not been studied in older adults. Method. Here we investigate the effect of COMT genotype on plasticity in working memory in a sample of 14 younger (aged 24-30 years) and 25 older (aged 60-75 years) healthy adults. Participants underwent adaptive training in the n-back working memory task over 12 sessions under increasing difficulty conditions. Results. Both younger and older adults exhibited sizeable behavioral plasticity through training (P < .001), which was larger in younger as compared to older adults (P < .001). Age-related differences were qualified by an interaction with COMT genotype (P <Objectives. Recent work suggests that a genetic variation associated with increased dopamine metabolism in the prefrontal cortex (catechol-O-methyltransferase Val158Met; COMT) amplifies age-related changes in working memory performance. Research on younger adults indicates that the influence of dopamine-related genetic polymorphisms on working memory performance increases when testing the cognitive limits through training. To date, this has not been studied in older adults. Method. Here we investigate the effect of COMT genotype on plasticity in working memory in a sample of 14 younger (aged 24-30 years) and 25 older (aged 60-75 years) healthy adults. Participants underwent adaptive training in the n-back working memory task over 12 sessions under increasing difficulty conditions. Results. Both younger and older adults exhibited sizeable behavioral plasticity through training (P < .001), which was larger in younger as compared to older adults (P < .001). Age-related differences were qualified by an interaction with COMT genotype (P < .001), and this interaction was due to decreased behavioral plasticity in older adults carrying the Val/Val genotype, while there was no effect of genotype in younger adults. Discussion. Our findings indicate that age-related changes in plasticity in working memory are critically affected by genetic variation in prefrontal dopamine metabolism.…
Verfasserangaben: | Stephan HeinzelORCiDGND, Thomas G. Riemer, Stefanie Schulte, Johanna Onken, Andreas HeinzORCiDGND, Michael Armin RappORCiDGND |
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DOI: | https://doi.org/10.1155/2014/414351 |
ISSN: | 2314-6133 |
ISSN: | 2314-6141 |
Titel des übergeordneten Werks (Englisch): | BioMed research international |
Verlag: | Hindawi Publishing Corp. |
Verlagsort: | New York |
Publikationstyp: | Wissenschaftlicher Artikel |
Sprache: | Englisch |
Jahr der Erstveröffentlichung: | 2014 |
Erscheinungsjahr: | 2014 |
Datum der Freischaltung: | 27.03.2017 |
Seitenanzahl: | 7 |
Fördernde Institution: | German National Academic Foundation; German Ministry for Education and Research [BMBF 01QG87164, 01GS08195, 01GQ0914]; German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, DFG) [FOR 1617, RA1047/2-1]; MaxNet Aging award |
Organisationseinheiten: | Humanwissenschaftliche Fakultät / Strukturbereich Kognitionswissenschaften / Department Psychologie |
Peer Review: | Referiert |
Publikationsweg: | Open Access |
Name der Einrichtung zum Zeitpunkt der Publikation: | Humanwissenschaftliche Fakultät / Institut für Psychologie |