Evidence of MAOA genotype involvement in spatial ability in males

Sven C Mueller; Brian R Cornwell; Christian Grillon; Jessica Macintyre; Elena Gorodetsky; David Goldman; Daniel S Pine; Monique Ernst

doi:10.1016/j.bbr.2014.03.025

Evidence of MAOA genotype involvement in spatial ability in males

Behav Brain Res. 2014 Jul 1:267:106-10. doi: 10.1016/j.bbr.2014.03.025. Epub 2014 Mar 23.

Authors

Sven C Mueller¹, Brian R Cornwell², Christian Grillon³, Jessica Macintyre⁴, Elena Gorodetsky⁵, David Goldman⁶, Daniel S Pine⁴, Monique Ernst⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Experimental Clinical and Health Psychology, Ghent University, 9000 Ghent, Belgium; Section on Developmental and Affective Neuroscience, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA. Electronic address: Sven.Mueller@UGent.be.
² Swinburne University, Melbourne, Hawthorn, VIC 3122, Australia.
³ Section Neurobiology of Fear & Anxiety, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.
⁴ Section on Developmental and Affective Neuroscience, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.
⁵ Mood and Anxiety Disorders Program, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.
⁶ National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.

Abstract

Although the monoamine oxidase-A (MAOA) gene has been linked to spatial learning and memory in animal models, convincing evidence in humans is lacking. Performance on an ecologically-valid, virtual computer-based equivalent of the Morris Water Maze task was compared between 28 healthy males with the low MAOA transcriptional activity and 41 healthy age- and IQ-matched males with the high MAOA transcriptional activity. The results revealed consistently better performance (reduced heading error, shorter path length, and reduced failed trials) for the high MAOA activity individuals relative to the low activity individuals. By comparison, groups did not differ on pre-task variables or strategic measures such as first-move latency. The results provide novel evidence of MAOA gene involvement in human spatial navigation using a virtual analogue of the Morris Water Maze task.

Keywords: Gene; Learning; Monoamine-oxidase; Spatial memory; Spatial navigation; Virtual maze.

Publication types

Research Support, N.I.H., Intramural

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Genotype
Genotyping Techniques
Humans
Male
Maze Learning / physiology*
Monoamine Oxidase / genetics*
Monoamine Oxidase / metabolism*
Spatial Navigation / physiology*
Task Performance and Analysis
Transcription, Genetic
User-Computer Interface
Young Adult

Substances

Monoamine Oxidase
monoamine oxidase A, human

Abstract

Publication types

MeSH terms

Substances

Grants and funding