No association of COMT with insight problem solving in Chinese college students.

Xiaolei Yang,Shun Zhang,Jinghuan Zhang

doi:10.7717/peerj.6755

Xiaolei Yang, Shun Zhang + Show 1 more

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https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.6755

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Journal: PeerJ	Publication Date: Apr 15, 2019
Citations: 2	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: Shandong Normal University, Qilu Normal University

Abstract

Genes involved in dopamine (DA) neurotransmission, such as the catechol-O-methyltransferase gene (COMT), have been suggested as key genetic candidates that might underlie the genetic basis of insight. In a sample of Chinese college students, this study examined whether COMT was associated with individual differences in the ability to solve classic insight problems. The results demonstrated that COMT was not associated with insight problem solving and there was no gender-dependent effect. This study, together with previous studies, raises the possibility of a complex relationship between COMT and insight problem solving.

Highlights

Recent advancements in neuroscience studies of the insight phenomenon have led to a greater understanding of the brain mechanisms of insight, the genetic correlates underlying these mechanisms remain largely unknown
Because dopamine (DA) and DA-related brain regions are implicated in the cognitive processes of insight, genes involved in DA neurotransmission, such as the catechol-Omethyltransferase gene (COMT ), have been suggested as the key candidate genes
The results indicated that both the rs4680 and rs4633 polymorphisms were significantly associated with insight problem solving and the rs5993883 polymorphism demonstrated a significant gender-dependent effect, with the association only present in males

Summary

Introduction

Recent advancements in neuroscience studies of the insight phenomenon have led to a greater understanding of the brain mechanisms of insight, the genetic correlates underlying these mechanisms remain largely unknown. To explore the genetic correlates of insight, there have been attempts to identify insight-related genes. Because dopamine (DA) and DA-related brain regions (e.g., prefrontal cortex) are implicated in the cognitive processes of insight, genes involved in DA neurotransmission, such as the catechol-Omethyltransferase gene (COMT ), have been suggested as the key candidate genes. Being widely expressed throughout the brain, COMT appears to play a important role in the degradation of DA in the prefrontal cortex (PFC). Consistent with the role of COMT in prefrontal catecholamine degradation, the impact of COMT in modulating prefrontal-related cognitive functions has been reported in various studies.

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