Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Zubieta, Jon-Kar
• Heitzeg, Mary M.
• Smith, Yolanda R.
• Bueller, Joshua A.
• Xu, Ke
• Xu, Yanjun
• Koeppe, Robert A.
• Stohler, Christian S.
• Goldman, David

Titel

COMT$val^{158}met$Genotype Affects$\mu -Opioid$Neurotransmitter Responses to a Pain Stressor

Ist Teil von

• Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science), 2003-02, Vol.299 (5610), p.1240-1243

Ort / Verlag

Washington: American Association for the Advancement of Science

Erscheinungsjahr

2003

Quelle

American Association for the Advancement of Science

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• Responses to pain and other Stressors are regulated by interactions between multiple brain areas and neurochemical systems. We examined the influence of a common functional genetic polymorphism affecting the metabolism of catecholamines on the modulation of responses to sustained pain in humans. Individuals homozygous for the$met^{158}$allele of the catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) polymorphism ($val^{158}met$) showed diminished regional$\mu -opioid$system responses to pain compared with heterozygotes. These effects were accompanied by higher sensory and affective ratings of pain and a more negative internal affective state. Opposite effects were observed in$val^{158}$homozygotes. The COMT$val^{158}met$polymorphism thus influences the human experience of pain and may underlie interindividual differences in the adaptation and responses to pain and other stressful stimuli.