TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2008//
TI  - The relationship between childhood abuse and dissociation. Is it influenced by catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) activity?
JO  - International journal of neuropsychopharmacology
A1  - Savitz, Jonathan B.
A1  - van der Merwe, Lize
A1  - Newman, Timothy K.
A1  - Solms, Mark
A1  - Stein, Dan J.
A1  - Ramesar, Rajkumar S.
SP  - 149
EP  - 161
VL  - 11
IS  - 2
N2  - Dissociation is a failure of perceptual, memorial and emotional integration that is associated with a variety of psychiatric disorders. Dissociative processes are usually attributed to the sequelae of childhood trauma although there are data to suggest that genetic influences are also important. Bipolar disorder (BD), a condition with a strong genetic basis, has also been associated with early psychological trauma. Since childhood trauma is a risk factor for both BD and dissociation, we tested for potential gene-childhood abuse interactions on dissociation in a pilot sample of BD probands and their affected and unaffected relatives (n=178). Dissociation was measured with the Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES II) and childhood maltreatment with the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ). The BD and recurrent unipolar depression (MDE-R) groups showed higher levels of self-reported abuse and dissociation than their unaffected relatives. The low-activity Met allele of the Val66Met polymorphism of the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) gene was associated with lower levels of self-reported dissociation. Further, the functional catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) Val158Met polymorphism interacted significantly with total CTQ abuse scores to impact perceived dissociation. The Val/Val genotype was associated with increasing levels of dissociation in participants exposed to higher levels of childhood trauma. The opposite was observed in people with Met/Met genotypes who displayed decreased dissociation with increasing self-reported childhood trauma. The current findings support the involvement of the COMT Val158Met polymorphism in mediating the relationship between trauma and psychopathology.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 1461-1457
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S1461145707007900
ID  - ref1
ER  -