Influence of Catechol-O-Methyltransferase Gene Polymorphism on the Correlation between Alexithymia and Hypervigilance to Pain.

ABSTRACT: The psychological characteristic of having difficulty expressing emotions, known as alexithymia, is associated with hypervigilance to pain and is considered one of the risk factors for chronic pain. The correlation between alexithymia and hypervigilance to pain can be observed even in healthy individuals. However, the factors influencing this correlation remain unknown. We explored the dopamine system, which is known to be involved in emotion and pain. The dopamine-degrading enzyme catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) has a genetic polymorphism known to influence dopamine metabolism in the prefrontal cortex. COMT polymorphism reportedly affects various aspects of pain and increases pain sensitivity in Met allele carriers. Therefore, we investigated whether the correlation between alexithymi

SUBMITTER: Ikarashi H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8704340 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature