Dataset Information

COMT-Polymorphisms Modulated Functional Profile of the Fusiform Face Area Contributes to Face-Specific Recognition Ability.

ABSTRACT: Previous studies have shown that face-specific recognition ability (FRA) is heritable; however, the neural basis of this heritability is unclear. Candidate gene studies have suggested that the catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) rs4680 polymorphism is related to face perception. Here, using a partial least squares (PLS) method, we examined the multivariate association between 12 genotypes of 4 COMT polymorphisms (rs6269-rs4633-rs4818-rs4680) and multimodal MRI phenotypes in the human fusiform face area (FFA), which selectively responds to face stimuli, in 338 Han Chinese adults (mean age 20.45 years; 135 males). The MRI phenotypes included gray matter volume (GMV), resting-state fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (fALFF), and face-selective blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) responses (FS). We found that the first COMT-variant component (PLS1) was positively associated with the FS but negatively associated with the fALFF in the FFA. Moreover, participants with the COMT heterozygous-HEA-haplotype showed higher PLS1 FFA-MRI scores, which were positively associated with the FRA in an old/new face recognition task, than those with the COMT homozygous HEA haplotype and HEA non-carriers, suggesting that individuals with an appropriate (intermediate) level of dopamine activity in the FFA might have better FRA. In summary, our study provides empirical evidence for the genetic and neural basis for the heritability of face recognition and informs the formation of neural module functional specificity.

SUBMITTER: Wu C

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7005682 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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COMT-Polymorphisms Modulated Functional Profile of the Fusiform Face Area Contributes to Face-Specific Recognition Ability.

Wu Chao C Zhen Zonglei Z Huang Lijie L Huang Taicheng T Liu Jia J

Scientific reports 20200207 1

Previous studies have shown that face-specific recognition ability (FRA) is heritable; however, the neural basis of this heritability is unclear. Candidate gene studies have suggested that the catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) rs4680 polymorphism is related to face perception. Here, using a partial least squares (PLS) method, we examined the multivariate association between 12 genotypes of 4 COMT polymorphisms (rs6269-rs4633-rs4818-rs4680) and multimodal MRI phenotypes in the human fusiform fa ...[more]

PMID: 32034175

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Project description:Rationale: Face expertise is a pivotal social skill. Developmental prosopagnosia (DP), i.e., the inability to recognize faces without a history of brain damage, affects about 2% of the general population, and is a renowned model system of the face-processing network. Within this network, the right Fusiform Face Area (FFA), is particularly involved in face identity processing and may therefore be a key element in DP. Neural representations within the FFA have been examined with Representational Similarity Analysis (RSA), a data-analytical framework in which multi-unit measures of brain activity are assessed with correlation analysis. Objectives: Our study intended to scrutinize modifications of FFA-activation during face encoding and maintenance based on RSA. Methods: Thirteen participants with DP (23-70 years) and 12 healthy control subjects (19-62 years) participated in a functional MRI study, including morphological MRI, a functional FFA-localizer and a modified Sternberg paradigm probing face memory encoding and maintenance. Memory maintenance of one, two, or four faces represented low, medium, and high memory load. We examined conventional activation differences in response to working memory load and applied RSA to compute individual correlation-matrices on the voxel level. Group correlation-matrices were compared via Donsker's random walk analysis. Results: On the functional level, increased memory load entailed both a higher absolute FFA-activation level and a higher degree of correlation between activated voxels. Both aspects were deficient in DP. Interestingly, control participants showed a homogeneous degree of correlation for successful trials during the experiment. In DP-participants, correlation levels between FFA-voxels were significantly lower and were less sustained during the experiment. In behavioral terms, DP-participants performed poorer and had longer reaction times in relation to DP-severity. Furthermore, correlation levels were negatively correlated with reaction times for the most demanding high load condition. Conclusion: We suggest that participants with DP fail to generate robust and maintained neural representations in the FFA during face encoding and maintenance, in line with poorer task performance and prolonged reaction times. In DP, alterations of neural coding in the FFA might therefore explain curtailing in working memory and contribute to impaired long-term memory and mental imagery.

Dataset Information

COMT-Polymorphisms Modulated Functional Profile of the Fusiform Face Area Contributes to Face-Specific Recognition Ability.

Publications

COMT-Polymorphisms Modulated Functional Profile of the Fusiform Face Area Contributes to Face-Specific Recognition Ability.

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