Relations Between Functional Brain Connectivity and Dopamine Profiles in Neurotypical Adults (2013)

Undergraduates: Zhe Zhou, Cara R. Damiano, Kristin K. Sellers, Brittney Ciszek, Stephanie Miller, Eleanor Hanna Megan Kovac, Chris Petty, Rachel Kozink, Brett Froeliger, Francis McClernon, and Gabriel Dichter

Faculty Advisor: Gabriel Dichter
Department: Psychology & Neuroscience

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The purpose of this study was to examine relations between resting state functional brain connectivity (rsFC) and candidate genes regulating dopamine function in adults without psychopathology. We used a multilocus dopamine profile score based on COMT, DAT1, DRD2, and Taq1 genotypes to evaluate the additive effects of multiple genetic alleles conferring relatively increased DA signaling on rsFC in canonical resting state networks (the default mode network, the dorsal attention network, the executive control network, and the salience network). Our findings indicate that as dopamine scores decrease (decreased dopamine function), connectivity between regions increased. Hyperconnectivity between the temporal lobes and parietal lobes may be implicated in hallucinogenic symptoms associated with schizophrenia, while hyperconnectivity between the cerebellum and prefrontal cortex may be implicated in movement impairment. Identification of prodromal schizophrenic connectivity issues based on dopamine genotype interactions not only provides for proof of the neural correlates associated with pathological origin, but could also be implemented in identifying individuals at heightened risk for schizophrenia.