Schooling and variation in the COMT gene: the devil is in the details.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Schooling is considered one of the major contributors to the development of intelligence within societies and individuals. Genetic variation might modulate the impact of schooling and explain, at least partially, the presence of individual differences in classrooms.

Method

We studied a sample of 1,502 children (mean age = 11.7 years) from Zambia. Approximately 57% of these children were enrolled in school, and the rest were not. To quantify genetic variation, we investigated a number of common polymorphisms in the catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) gene that controls the production of the protein thought to account for >60% of the dopamine degradation in the prefrontal cortex.

Results

Haplotype analyses generated results ranging from the presence to absenc

SUBMITTER: Campbell D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3786416 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature