Preliminary investigation of the influence of CREB1 gene polymorphisms on cognitive dysfunction in Chinese patients with major depression

Abstract

Research has increasingly focused on the role of the cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) response element binding (CREB) protein in learning and memory, particularly its role in cognitive disorders and neurodegeneration, such as Huntington's disease, Alzheimer's disease, Rubinstein–Taybi syndrome, and Coffin–Lowry syndrome. The cognitive dysfunction of patients with major depressive disorder (MDD), which is widely recognized, is not completely in accordance with depressive severity, and the dysfunction persists upon clinical remission in some patients. However, few studies have focused on the role of CREB on cognitive function in patients with MDD. This study aimed to investigate the influence of CREB1 polymorphism on cognitive function in patients with MDD. The current study comprised 113 patients with MDD. The severity of depression was measured using the 17-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale, and cognitive function was assessed using the Stroop Neuropsychological Screening Test, verbal fluency test, and tests of immediate logical memory and visual reproduction. All subjects were genotyped with regard to CREB1 polymorphisms (rs10932201, rs2551645, rs2254137, rs6740584, and rs2551640). For the verbal fluency test, the results showed significant differences for all single-nucleotide polymorphism genotypic groups. For the Stroop color-word task, a significant difference was found only for rs6740584. No significant differences were found for the Stroop color task, the immediate logical memory test or the visual reproduction test. In conclusion, there was an effect of CREB1 polymorphism on selective attention and retrieval of long-term memory, but not on immediate memory.