Sex-specific effects of COMT Val158Met polymorphism on corpus callosum structure: A whole-brain diffusion-weighted imaging study.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Genetic polymorphisms play a significant role in determining brain morphology, including white matter structure and may thus influence the development of brain functions. The main objective of this study was to examine the effect of Val158Met (rs4680) polymorphism of Catechol-O-Methyltransferase (COMT) gene on white matter connectivity in healthy adults.

Methods

We used a whole-brain diffusion-weighted imaging method with Tract-Based Spatial Statistics (TBSS) analysis to examine white matter structural integrity in intrinsic brain networks on a sample of healthy subjects (N = 82).

Results

Results revealed a sex-specific effect of COMT on corpus callosum (CC): in males only, Val homozygotes had significantly higher fraction

SUBMITTER: El-Hage W 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5607550 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature