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DRD2/ANKK1 polymorphism modulates the effect of ventral striatal activation on working memory performance
Charlotte Nymberg1, Tobias Banaschewski2, Arun L W Bokde3
1Department of Neuroscience, Karolinska institute, Stockholm, Sweden.
Summary
The DRD2/ANKK1 rs1800497 gene variant influences working memory (WM) performance. Dopamine D2 receptor activity in the ventral striatum and caudate nucleus is linked to better WM, especially in A-allele carriers.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Science
- Behavioral Genetics
Background:
- Dopaminergic (D2) transmission in the ventral striatum (VS) is linked to motivation and cognition.
- Dorsal striatum function, including the caudate nucleus, is strongly associated with learning and cognition.
- The DRD2/ANKK1 polymorphism (rs1800497) may interact with motivation to influence working memory (WM) training outcomes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between the rs1800497 polymorphism and WM performance.
- To examine the relationship between VS and caudate nucleus activation during reward anticipation and WM performance.
- To test for an interaction between rs1800497 and VS/caudate activation in modulating WM performance.
Main Methods:
- Utilized two large-scale imaging genetic datasets: IMAGEN (n=1080, ages 13-15) and BrainChild (n≈300, ages 6-27).
- Analyzed the association between the rs1800497 polymorphism and WM performance across both datasets.
- Investigated VS and caudate nucleus activation during reward anticipation in relation to WM performance and the rs1800497 genotype within the IMAGEN dataset.
Main Results:
- The rs1800497 polymorphism was significantly associated with WM performance in both IMAGEN and BrainChild datasets.
- Increased VS and caudate activation during reward processing correlated significantly with higher WM performance (p<0.0001).
- A significant interaction (p<0.01) was observed between rs1800497 and VS activation during reward anticipation on WM performance, with A-allele carriers showing a stronger correlation between VS activation and WM.
Conclusions:
- The DRD2/ANKK1 rs1800497 polymorphism influences individual differences in working memory performance.
- Ventral striatum and caudate nucleus activation during reward anticipation are critical for working memory.
- Genetic variations in D2 dopaminergic transmission, as indicated by rs1800497, modulate the impact of neural activation on working memory.
