Sex moderates the association between the COMT Vail 58Met single-nucleotide polymorphism and disorderliness facet of novelty seeking

Previous studies have shown inconsistent results regarding the effect of the Val(158) Met polymorphism of the catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) gene on personality and cognition. Here, nonclinical Caucasian university students of Italian origin were administered the Temperament and Character Inventory-Revised, Tellegen Absorption Scale, Differential Attentional Processes Inventory, and Waterloo-Stanford Group Scale of Hypnotic Susceptibility. We found that the COMT Val(158) Met polymorphism was significantly associated with the disorderliness facet of novelty seeking (NS4) and that sex was a moderator of this association. Females with the Met/Met genotype showed higher NS4 scores compared to those with the Val/Met and Val/Val genotypes. No significant genotype effect was found for males. Additionally, we failed to find a significant effect of the COMT gene on attention and hypnotic suggestibility measures. These results provide further evidence for a sex-specific influence on the gene-behaviour associations. (C) 2020 Elsevier B.V. and Japan Neuroscience Society. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

The Val(158) Met polymorphism of the COMT gene was found to be significantly associated with the disorderliness facet of novelty seeking, and this association was moderated by sex, showing a sex-specific influence on gene-behavior associations. No significant genotype effect was found for males, and there was no significant effect of the COMT gene on attention and hypnotic suggestibility measures.