Association study between COMT 158Met and creativity scores in bipolar disorder and healthy controls

Archives of Clinical Psychiatry (São Paulo)

Márcio Gerhardt Soeiro-de-souza¹  Robert Post¹  Rodrigo Machado-vieira¹  Carolina Martins Do Prado¹  Ricardo Alberto Moreno¹  Hagop Akiskal¹  Kareen K. Akiskal¹ 

关键词: Dopamine;    creativity;    catechol-O-methyltransferase;    bipolar disorder;    mania;    depression;    Dopamina;    criatividade;    catecol-O-metiltransferase;    transtorno bipolar;    mania;    depressão;   

DOI  :  10.1590/0101-60830000000006

来源: SciELO

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundBipolar disorder (BD) patients have been reported to be associated higher creativity abilities, and recent data tend to support the hypothesis that dopaminergic system that could be associated with creativity. Catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) is one of the major enzymes involved in the metabolic degradation of dopamine. The COMT gene polymorphism (rs4680 or Val158Met) Met allele is reported to cause decreased activity of this enzyme in prefrontal cortex and improve performance in several cognitive domains. ObjectiveThe objective of this study was to evaluate the influence of Val158Met on creativity in BD type I and healthy controls. MethodsNinety-seven healthy volunteers and 120 BD type I were genotyped for COMT rs4680 and tested for creativity (Barrow Welsh Art Scale – BWAS) and intelligence Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence (WASI). ResultsCOMT Met allele positively influenced creativity scores in healthy controls but not in BD subjects during mood episodes and euthymia. The presence of allele Met did not influence IQ scores. No influence of IQ total score on creativity was observed. Limitationscontrol group presented higher IQ scores and euthymic group was under medication use. DiscussionOur research suggests positive effect of COMT rs4680 (allele Met) on creativity scores in healthy controls. One possible interpretation is that creativity is more likely to be associated with lesser degrees of bipolarity. The fact that the same results were not observed in BD may be associated to dysfunctions in the dopaminergic system that characterizes this disorder. Further studies with larger samples and other types of BD should explore the role of the dopaminergic system in creativity.

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