• C Wang, B Liu, H Long, L Fan, J Li, X Zhang, C Qiu, C Yu, and T Jiang.
• Key Laboratory for NeuroInformation of Ministry of Education, School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China.
• Neuroscience. 2015 Jul 9;298:380-8.

AbstractThe frontostriatal system plays a critical role in emotional and cognitive control. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) influences the release of dopamine (DA) in the ventral striatum (VST), while catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) impacts DA availability in the prefrontal cortex (PFC). Behavioral studies have already shown a genetic interaction of BDNF Val66Met and COMT Val158Met, but the interaction on the DA-related neural circuit has not been previously studied. Here we show, using functional magnetic resonance imaging in a sample of healthy human subjects, that BDNF and COMT epistatically interacted on the functional connectivity between the bilateral VST and the anterior cingulate cortex. Specifically, BDNF Val66Met impacted the VST-PFC functional connectivity in an inverted U-shaped in COMT Met carriers, while COMT Val homozygotes displayed a U-shaped. These data may be helpful elucidating the mechanism of the interaction between BDNF and COMT on the cognitive functions that are based in the frontostriatal system.Copyright © 2015 IBRO. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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