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Updated: Aug 18, 2026

Comprehensive Profiling of Dopamine Regulation in Substantia Nigra and Ventral Tegmental Area
Published on: August 10, 2012
Midbrain dopamine and prefrontal function in humans: interaction and modulation by COMT genotype
Andreas Meyer-Lindenberg1, Philip D Kohn, Bhaskar Kolachana
1Section on Integrative Neuroimaging, National Institute for Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services, 9000 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, Maryland 20892-1365, USA. andreasml@nih.gov
Abstract:
Using multimodal neuroimaging in humans, we demonstrate specific interactions between prefrontal activity and midbrain dopaminergic synthesis. A common V(108/158)M substitution in the gene for catecholamine-O-methyltransferase (COMT), an important enzyme regulating prefrontal dopamine turnover, predicted reduced dopamine synthesis in midbrain and qualitatively affected the interaction with prefrontal cortex. These data implicate a dopaminergic tuning mechanism in prefrontal cortex and suggest a systems-level mechanism for cognitive and neuropsychiatric associations with COMT.
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