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Does adult ADHD interact with COMT val 158 met genotype to influence working memory performance?

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ADHD Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorders

Abstract

Both attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) genotype have been linked to altered dopaminergic transmission and possible impairment in frontal lobe functioning. This study offers an investigation of a possible interaction between ADHD diagnosis and COMT genotype on measures of working memory and executive function. Thirty-five adults with ADHD, who were recruited from the ADHD outpatient clinic at the Department of Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, University of Würzburg, and thirty-five matched healthy controls completed the Digit Span test and the Stroop Color Word Test. While there were no main effects of ADHD or COMT, the two factors interacted on both Digit Span subtests with the two groups’ met/met carriers showing significantly different performance on the Digit Span Forward subtest and the val/val carriers showing significantly different performance on the Digit Span Backward subtest. Findings provide preliminary support for a differential impact of COMT genotype on working memory measures in adult patients with ADHD compared to healthy controls.

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Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank Inge Gröbner for coordinating the patient appointments. This work was supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG; Grants HE 4531/1-1 and RTG 1253/1).

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical standard

Ethical approval was obtained through the Ethical Review Board of the Medical Faculty of the University of Würzburg; all procedures involved were in accordance with the 2008 Declaration of Helsinki. Participants gave written informed consent after full explanation of procedures.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, University of Würzburg, Füchsleinstraße 15, 97080, Würzburg, Germany

    Stefanie C. Biehl, Kathrin M. Gschwendtner, Anne Guhn, Laura D. Müller, Julia Heupel, Andreas Reif, Jürgen Deckert, Martin J. Herrmann & Christian P. Jacob

  2. School of Psychology, University of Aberdeen, William Guild Building, Aberdeen, AB24 3FX, United Kingdom

    Stefanie C. Biehl

  3. Tumor Biology Center, University of Freiburg, Breisacher Straße 117, 79106, Freiburg, Germany

    Kathrin M. Gschwendtner

  4. Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, University of Würzburg, Füchsleinstraße 15, 97080, Würzburg, Germany

    Susanne Reichert

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  1. Stefanie C. Biehl
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  2. Kathrin M. Gschwendtner
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  3. Anne Guhn
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  4. Laura D. Müller
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  7. Andreas Reif
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  9. Martin J. Herrmann
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  10. Christian P. Jacob
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Correspondence to Stefanie C. Biehl.

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Biehl, S.C., Gschwendtner, K.M., Guhn, A. et al. Does adult ADHD interact with COMT val 158 met genotype to influence working memory performance?. ADHD Atten Def Hyp Disord 7, 19–25 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12402-014-0148-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12402-014-0148-8

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