Epistasis between the DAT 3' UTR VNTR and the COMT Val158Met SNP on cortical function in healthy subjects and patients with schizophrenia.

ABSTRACT: Dopamine has a crucial role in the modulation of neurocognitive function, and synaptic dopamine activity is normally regulated by the dopamine transporter (DAT) and catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT). Perturbed dopamine function is a key pathophysiological feature of schizophrenia. Our objectives were (i) to examine epistasis between the DAT 3' UTR variable number of tandem repeats (VNTR) and COMT Val158Met polymorphisms on brain activation during executive function, and (ii) to then determine the extent to which such interaction is altered in schizophrenia. Regional brain response was measured by using blood-oxygen-level-dependent fMRI during an overt verbal fluency task in 85 subjects (44 healthy volunteers and 41 patients with DSM-IV schizophrenia), and inferences were estimated by usi

SUBMITTER: Prata DP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2726372 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature