MAOA Influences the Trajectory of Attentional Development

Abstract

Attention is vital to success in all aspects of life (Meck and Benson, 2002; Erickson et al., 2015), hence it is important to identify biomarkers of later attentional problems early enough to intervene. Our objective was to determine if any of 11 genes (APOE, BDNF, HTR4, CHRNA4, COMT, DRD4, IGF2, MAOA, SLC5A7, SLC6A3, and SNAP25) predicted the trajectory of attentional development within the same group of children between infancy and childhood. We recruited follow up participants from children who participated as infants in visual attention studies and used a similar task at both time points. Using multilevel modeling, we associated changes in the participant’s position in the distribution of scores in infancy to his/her position in childhood with genetic markers on each of 11 genes. While all 11 genes predicted reaction time (RT) residual scores, only Monoamine oxidase A (MAOA) had a significant interaction including time point. We conclude that the MAOA single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs1137070 is useful in predicting which girls are likely to develop slower RTs on an attention task between infancy and childhood. This early identification is likely to be helpful in early intervention.

Aggressiveness in Italian Children with ADHD: MAOA Gene Polymorphism Involvement

“…Regarding rs1137070, it has been shown that the T variant is associated with higher activity than that of the C allele [50]. Moreover, it is considered a useful biomarker of attentional problems; in this regard, the study by Lundwall et al showed that this SNP predicted poorer developmental course in reaction time (RT) and that in girls, the carrier of CC genotype led to an increase in RT on a reflexive attention task between infancy and childhood [53].…”

Blunted insula activation reflects increased risk and reward seeking as an interaction of testosterone administration and the MAOA polymorphism

“…In the current context, impulsivity and approach tendency thus seem to be related to the MAOA polymorphism independently and are thereby a possible separate factor as suggested in model of gene‐environment interactions [Holz et al, ]. The genetic variation may influence other personality traits as well or bias learning and attention [Lundwall and Rasmussen, ; Ma et al, ] which in turn might lead to differential decision strategies in MAOA‐L or MAOA‐S carriers [Frydman et al, ]. Nevertheless, one of the most famous findings in research on the MAOA polymorphism is its known interaction with the environment [Beitchman et al, ; Meyer‐Lindenberg et al, ].…”

RT Slowing to Valid Cues on a Reflexive Attention Task in Children and Young Adults

“…Likewise, they found IOR beginning at 360 and 780 ms in older children (11–17 years old) for tasks in which attention is drawn back to center prior to target presentation and at 570 ms when attention can remain at a cue location prior to target presentation. However, only a few studies examine how reflexive attention functions in school-age children ( Pearson and Lane, 1990 ; Brodeur and Boden, 2000 ; Wainwright and Bryson, 2002 ; Ristic and Enns, 2015 ; Lundwall and Rasmussen, 2016 ; Lundwall et al, 2017 ). In fact, we could find no study (besides our own) in our university library databases (e.g., PsycINFO, Academic Search Premier, MEDLINE) that used typically developing children, a peripheral cueing task, and both valid and invalid cues appearing at chance (50% for two locations).…”