On the molecular genetics of flexibility: The case of task-switching,inhibitory control and genetic variants |
| |
Authors: | Sebastian Markett Christian Montag Nora T Walter Thomas Plieger Martin Reuter |
| |
Institution: | University of Bonn, Germany. sebastian.markett@uni-bonn-diff.de |
| |
Abstract: | The adjustment of behavior to changing goals and environmental constraints requires the flexible switching between different
task sets. Cognitive flexibility is an endophenotype of executive functioning and is highly heritable, as indicated by twin
studies. Individual differences in global flexibility as assessed by reaction-time measurement in a task-switching paradigm
were recently related to a single nucleotide polymorphism in the vicinity of the dopamine d2 receptor gene DRD2. In the present
study, we assessed whether the DRD2 gene is related to backward inhibition, a control mechanism that contributes to cognitive
flexibility by reducing proactive interference by no longer relevant task sets. We found that carriers of the DRD2 A1+ variant
who have a lower striatal dopamine d2 receptor density than A1– carriers show a larger backward inhibition effect. This is
in line with previous results demonstrating increased behavioral flexibility in carriers of this genetic variant. The discussion
relates the present finding to those of previous studies assessing the neurogenetic foundations of inhibitory control. |
| |
Keywords: | |
本文献已被 PubMed SpringerLink 等数据库收录! |