The COMT Val/Met polymorphism is associated with reading‐related skills and consistent patterns of functional neural activation. Issue 1 (3rd October 2012)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Landi, Nicole; Frost, Stephen J.; Mencl, W. Einar; Preston, Jonathan L.; Jacobsen, Leslie K.; Lee, Maria; Yrigollen, Carolyn; Pugh, Kenneth R.; Grigorenko, Elena L.
• Is Part Of: Developmental science. Volume 16:Issue 1(2013)
• Page Start: 13
• Page End: 23
• Publication Date: 2012-10-03
• Subjects: Developmental psychology -- Periodicals; Psychology, Comparative -- Periodicals; 155
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-7687.2012.01180.x
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1363-755X

Abstract

<abstract abstract-type="main" id="desc1180-abs-0001"> <title>Abstract</title> <p>In both children and adults there is large variability in reading skill, with approximately 5–10% of individuals characterized as having reading disability; these individuals struggle to learn to read despite adequate intelligence and opportunity. Although it is well established that a substantial portion of this variability is attributed to the genetic differences between individuals, specifics of the connections between reading and the genome are not understood. This article presents data that suggest that variation in the <italic>COMT</italic> gene, which has previously been associated with variation in higher‐order cognition, is associated with reading and reading‐related skills, at the level of both brain and behavior. In particular, we found that the <italic>COMT</italic> Val/Met polymorphism at rs4680, which results in the substitution of the ancestral Valine (Val) by Methionine (Met), was associated with better performance on a number of critical reading measures and with patterns of functional neural activation that have been linked to better readers. We argue that this polymorphism, known for its broad effects on cognition, may modulate (likely through frontal lobe function) reading skill.</p> </abstract>