Hypnotizability and Catechol-O-Methyltransferase (COMT) polymorphysms in Italians.

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Behavioral Genetics

Background:

• Higher brain dopamine levels, linked to lower Catechol-O-Methyltransferase (COMT) activity, were hypothesized to explain attentional differences in highly hypnotizable individuals.
• Previous genetic studies on the association between hypnotizability and the COMT single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs4818 (Val(158)Met) yielded inconsistent results.

Purpose of the Study:

• To re-evaluate the association between hypnotizability and the COMT gene using a selective genotyping approach.
• To investigate the role of two COMT SNPs (rs4680 and rs4818) and their haplotypes in hypnotizability.

Main Methods:

• A selective genotyping approach was employed on an Italian sample including 53 high hypnotizable subjects (highs), 49 low hypnotizable subjects (lows), and 57 controls.
• Genotyping focused on an 805 bp segment of the COMT gene, encompassing the Val(158)Met (rs4680) and rs4818 SNPs.

Main Results:

• The study possessed 97.1% power to detect previously reported associations at a 5% significance level.
• No statistically significant evidence of association was found at the SNP, haplotype, or diplotype levels between COMT gene variations and hypnotizability.

Conclusions:

• The findings challenge the dopamine-based theory linking COMT activity to hypnotizability and attentional characteristics.
• These results indirectly support recent research indicating no association between hypnotizability and focused attention abilities.