Dataset Information

Influence of Catechol-O-methyltransferase on Executive Functioning Longitudinally After Early Childhood Traumatic Brain Injury: Preliminary Findings.

ABSTRACT: OBJECTIVE:To elucidate the association of a functional catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) genotype (rs4680) with recovery of executive functions up to 18 months after early childhood traumatic brain injury (TBI) compared with an orthopedic injury (OI) group. SETTING:Outpatient. PARTICIPANTS:A total of 134 children with a moderate to severe TBI (n = 63) or OI (n = 71) between the ages of 3 and 6 years who were followed 18 months postinjury. DESIGN:Case-comparison, longitudinal cohort MAIN MEASURES:: The Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function, developmental NEuroPSYchological Assessment (NEPSY) of Verbal Fluency, and a modified Stroop Test for young children (Shape School). RESULTS:The low-activity COMT enzyme genotype (AA) was associated with better scores on the developmental NEPSY of Verbal Fluency (F = 3.80; P = .02) and the Shape School (F = 2.89; P = .06) in all participants when controlling for injury type (TBI vs OI) over the first 18 months after injury. Injury type (TBI vs OI) did not significantly moderate the effect of the COMT genotypes on executive function recovery. CONCLUSION:This study provides preliminary evidence for a role of COMT genotypes in long-term recovery of executive function after pediatric TBI and OI. Larger studies are needed to determine the exact link between genetic variation in the COMT gene and TBI recovery in children.

SUBMITTER: Kurowski BG

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4724555 | biostudies-literature | 2016 May-Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Influence of Catechol-O-methyltransferase on Executive Functioning Longitudinally After Early Childhood Traumatic Brain Injury: Preliminary Findings.

Kurowski Brad G BG Backeljauw Barynia B Zang Huaiyu H Zhang Nanhua N Martin Lisa J LJ Pilipenko Valentina V Yeates Keith K Taylor H Gerry HG Wade Shari S

The Journal of head trauma rehabilitation 20160501 3

<h4>Objective</h4>To elucidate the association of a functional catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) genotype (rs4680) with recovery of executive functions up to 18 months after early childhood traumatic brain injury (TBI) compared with an orthopedic injury (OI) group.<h4>Setting</h4>Outpatient.<h4>Participants</h4>A total of 134 children with a moderate to severe TBI (n = 63) or OI (n = 71) between the ages of 3 and 6 years who were followed 18 months postinjury.<h4>Design</h4>Case-comparison, lo ...[more]

PMID: 26394291

Similar Datasets

Project description:OBJECTIVES:To examine catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) rs4680 genotypes as moderators of the effects of parenting style on postinjury changes in parent behavior ratings of executive dysfunction following moderate to severe early childhood traumatic brain injury. SETTING:Research was conducted in an outpatient setting. PARTICIPANTS:Participants included children admitted to hospital with moderate to severe traumatic brain injury (n = 55) or orthopedic injuries (n = 70) between ages 3 and 7 years. DESIGN:Prospective cohort followed over 7 years postinjury. MAIN MEASURES:Parenting Practices Questionnaire and the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Functioning obtained at baseline, 6, 12, and 18 months, and 3.5 and 6.8 years postinjury. DNA was collected from saliva samples, purified using the Oragene (DNA Genotek, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada) OG-500 self-collection tubes, and analyzed using TaqMan (Applied Biosystems, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Waltham, Massachusetts) assay protocols to identify the COMT rs4680 polymorphism. RESULTS:Linear mixed models revealed a significant genotype × parenting style × time interaction (F = 5.72, P = .02), which suggested that the adverse effects of authoritarian parenting on postinjury development of executive functioning were buffered by the presence of the COMT AA genotype (lower enzyme activity, higher dopamine levels). There were no significant associations of executive functioning with the interaction between genotype and authoritative or permissive parenting ratings. CONCLUSION:The lower activity COMT rs4680 genotype may buffer the negative effect of authoritarian parenting on long-term executive functioning following injury in early childhood. The findings provide preliminary evidence for associations of parenting style with executive dysfunction in children and for a complex interplay of genetic and environmental factors as contributors to decreases in these problems after traumatic injuries in children. Further investigation is warranted to understand the interplay among genetic and environmental factors related to recovery after traumatic brain injury in children.

Project description:BACKGROUND:The prenatal period is a period of vulnerability during which neurotoxic exposures exert persistent changes in brain development and behavior. Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), used as flame retardants in commercial products, are known to be developmental neurotoxicants. PBDEs were phased out of use in the United States a decade ago, but exposure remains widespread due to their release from existing products and biopersistence. Despite consistent animal and epidemiological evidence of developmental neurotoxicity, the neural substrates linking prenatal PBDE serum concentrations to impaired neurodevelopment are poorly understood. METHODS:In the present study, we used resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to examine associations between prenatal PBDE concentrations measured in maternal serum and intrinsic functional network organization (i.e., global and local efficiency; estimated using a graph-theoretical approach) in 5-year-old children (n = 34). We explored whether PBDE serum concentrations were associated with executive functioning (EF) assessed using a parent-report questionnaire (BRIEF-P) (n = 106) and whether changes in intrinsic functional network organization linked the association between prenatal PBDE serum concentrations and EF problems. RESULTS:Children with higher prenatal PBDE serum concentrations showed: (a) increased global efficiency of brain areas involved in visual attention (e.g., inferior occipital gyrus) (β's = .01, FDR-corrected p's ≤ .05); (b) more reported EF problems (β's = .001, FDR-corrected p's ≤ .05). Higher global efficiency of brain areas involved in visual attention was associated with more EF problems (β's = .01, FDR-corrected p's < .05). CONCLUSIONS:Intrinsic functional network organization of visual attention brain areas linked prenatal PBDE concentrations to EF problems in childhood. Visual attention may contribute to the development of higher-order cognitive functions, such as EF, which could be explored in future studies.

Dataset Information

Influence of Catechol-O-methyltransferase on Executive Functioning Longitudinally After Early Childhood Traumatic Brain Injury: Preliminary Findings.

Publications

Influence of Catechol-O-methyltransferase on Executive Functioning Longitudinally After Early Childhood Traumatic Brain Injury: Preliminary Findings.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets