Genetic Variations in COMT and DRD2 Modulate Attentional Bias for Affective Facial Expressions

Abstract

Studies have revealed that catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) and dopaminegic receptor2 (DRD2) modulate human attention bias for palatable food or tobacco. However, the existing evidence about the modulations of COMT and DRD2 on attentional bias for facial expressions was still limited. In the study, 650 college students were genotyped with regard to COMT Val158Met and DRD2 TaqI A polymorphisms, and the attentional bias for facial expressions was assessed using the spatial cueing task. The results indicated that COMT Val158Met underpinned the individual difference in attentional bias for negative emotional expressions (P = 0.03) and the Met carriers showed more engagement bias for negative expressions than the Val/Val homozygote. On the contrary, DRD2 TaqIA underpinned the individual difference in attentional bias for positive expressions (P = 0.003) and individuals with TT genotype showed much more engagement bias for positive expressions than the individuals with CC genotype. Moreover, the two genes exerted significant interactions on the engagements for negative and positive expressions (P = 0.046, P = 0.005). These findings suggest that the individual differences in the attentional bias for emotional expressions are partially underpinned by the genetic polymorphisms in COMT and DRD2.

Attentional biases to emotional stimuli: Key components of the RDoC constructs of sustained threat and loss

“…The Val variant of the COMT (rs4680) genotype catabolizes dopamine up to four times the rate of the COMT Met variant [Egan et al, ]. There is evidence that carriers of the COMT Met allele, compared to Val allele homozygotes, exhibit increased activation in limbic areas and areas of the PFC (vlPFC, dlPFC) when viewing negative stimuli [Smolka et al, ] and greater attentional biases for negative facial expressions (sad, fearful, and angry) [Gong et al, ; but see also Lonsdorf et al, ].…”

Mesocorticolimbic dopamine functioning in primary psychopathy: A source of within-group heterogeneity

“…In agreement, A1-allele carriers display higher levels of childhood antisocial behavior, bipolar disorder with low anxiety, impulsivity, novelty/stimulus seeking, aggression, antisocial/borderline traits, faster habituation to positive feedback (decoupling behavior from experience), and substance abuse/dependence but also adaptive traits such as extraversion, behavioral activation, low depression or harm avoidance, and improved cognitive performance (Noble et al, 1998;Bartrés-Faz et al, 2002;Eisenberg et al, 2007;Hoenicka et al, 2007;Ponce et al, 2008 ;Althaus et al, 2009;Esposito-Smythers et al, 2009;Ponce et al, 2009;Barskiĭ et al, 2010;Nemoda et al, 2010;Smillie et al, 2010;Stelzel et al, 2010;Thaler et al, 2012;Kazantseva et al, 2011;Lu et al, 2012;Zai et al, 2012;Wang et al, 2013aWang et al, , 2014. A1-carriers also showed significantly lower levels of risk for depression and higher engagement bias towards positive social stimuli, thus evincing a more stable and higher DA functioning (Elovainio et al, 2007;Gong et al, 2013).…”

Different patterns of attentional bias in antenatal and postpartum depression

“…For instance, increasing evidence suggests that the short version of the serotonin transporter gene ( 5‐HTTLPR ) is associated with attentional bias to negative stimuli (Pergamin‐Hight, Bakermans‐Kranenburg, van Ijzendoorn, & Bar‐Haim, 2012), and similar associations have been suggested for single nucleotide polymorphisms in the catechol‐O‐methyltransferase ( COMT ), dopamine receptor D2 ( DRD2 ), and tryptophan hydroxylase ( TPH ) genes (Forssman et al., 2014; Gong et al., 2013). Similarly, childhood trauma and abuse predict attentional bias later in life (Gunther, Dannlowski, Kersting, & Suslow, 2015; Wingenfeld et al., 2011), and the interaction between stressful life events and genetic make‐up may further moderate the relationship (Jenness, Hankin, Young, & Smolen, 2016).…”