Genetic and vascular modifiers of age-sensitive cognitive skills: effects of COMT, BDNF, ApoE, and hypertension.

ABSTRACT: Several single nucleotide polymorphisms have been linked to neural and cognitive variation in healthy adults. We examined contribution of three polymorphisms frequently associated with individual differences in cognition (Catechol-O-Methyl-Transferase Val158Met, Brain-Derived-Neurotrophic-Factor Val66Met, and Apolipoprotein E epsilon4) and a vascular risk factor (hypertension) in a sample of 189 volunteers (age 18-82). Genotypes were determined from buccal culture samples, and cognitive performance was assessed in 4 age-sensitive domains?fluid intelligence, executive function (inhibition), associative memory, and processing speed. We found that younger age and COMT Met/Met genotype, associated with low COMT activity and higher prefrontal dopamine content, were independently linked to bette

SUBMITTER: Raz N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2729285 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature