Catechol-O-methyltransferase val158met Polymorphism Interacts with Sex to Affect Face Recognition Ability

Abstract

The catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) val158met polymorphism affects the breakdown of synaptic dopamine. Consequently, this polymorphism has been associated with a variety of neurophysiological and behavioral outcomes. Some of the effects have been found to be sex-specific and it appears estrogen may act to down-regulate the activity of the COMT enzyme. The dopaminergic system has been implicated in face recognition, a form of cognition for which a female advantage has typically been reported. This study aimed to investigate potential joint effects of sex and COMT genotype on face recognition. A sample of 142 university students was genotyped and assessed using the Faces I subtest of the Wechsler Memory Scale – Third Edition (WMS-III). A significant two-way interaction between sex and COMT genotype on face recognition performance was found. Of the male participants, COMT val homozygotes and heterozygotes had significantly lower scores than met homozygotes. Scores did not differ between genotypes for female participants. While male val homozygotes had significantly lower scores than female val homozygotes, no sex differences were observed in the heterozygotes and met homozygotes. This study contributes to the accumulating literature documenting sex-specific effects of the COMT polymorphism by demonstrating a COMT-sex interaction for face recognition, and is consistent with a role for dopamine in face recognition.

COMT-Polymorphisms Modulated Functional Profile of the Fusiform Face Area Contributes to Face-Specific Recognition Ability

“…The COMT Val/Met (rs4680) polymorphism has been suggested to play a role in face perception [15][16][17][18][19]22 . Our study extends previous findings by identifying a neural site where COMT affects face recognition.…”

“…Candidate gene studies have demonstrated the association of the catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) gene, located on chromosome 22q11.2, with face recognition [15][16][17][18][19] . The COMT gene codes for the COMT enzyme, a protein that degrades catecholamine neurotransmitters and modulates dopamine metabolisms 20 .…”

“…The COMT gene codes for the COMT enzyme, a protein that degrades catecholamine neurotransmitters and modulates dopamine metabolisms 20 . Among the COMT polymorphisms, Val158Met (rs4680) has been most reported to play a role in face processing [15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24] . For example, individuals with the Met/Met (rs4680) genotype are more sensitive to configural changes in faces than those with other genotypes 15 .…”