Evidence map›Paper›PMID 25190703›Full record

ArticleSocial cognitive and affective neuroscience2015

Influence of COMT genotype and affective distractors on the processing of self-generated thought.

Emma J Kilford, Iroise Dumontheil, Nicholas W Wood, Sarah-Jayne Blakemore

Open access · bronzeAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Social cognitive and affective neuroscience, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
9citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
2.3field-weighted citation impact, top 12% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

9 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 16 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. International journal of molecular sciences · 2026
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  3. Review
  4. Brain Glucose Metabolism andDiagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024
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  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. Article
  8. Article
  9. Functional Genetic Variation in Dopamine Signaling Moderates Prefrontal Cortical Activity During Risky Decision Making.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2016
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Emma J KilfordInstitute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, 17 Queen Square, London, WC1N 3AR, UK, Department of Psychological Sciences, Birkbeck, University of London, Malet Street, London, WC1E 7HX, UK and Department of Molecular Neuroscience, Institute of Neurology, University College London, Queen Square, London, WC1N 3BG, UK e.kilford.12@ucl.ac.uk.
Iroise DumontheilInstitute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, 17 Queen Square, London, WC1N 3AR, UK, Department of Psychological Sciences, Birkbeck, University of London, Malet Street, London, WC1E 7HX, UK and Department of Molecular Neuroscience, Institute of Neurology, University College London, Queen Square, London, WC1N 3BG, UK Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, 17 Queen Square, London, WC1N 3AR, UK, Department of Psychological Sciences, Birkbeck, University of London, Malet Street, London, WC1E 7HX, UK and Department of Molecular Neuroscience, Institute of Neurology, University College London, Queen Square, London, WC1N 3BG, UK.
Nicholas W WoodInstitute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, 17 Queen Square, London, WC1N 3AR, UK, Department of Psychological Sciences, Birkbeck, University of London, Malet Street, London, WC1E 7HX, UK and Department of Molecular Neuroscience, Institute of Neurology, University College London, Queen Square, London, WC1N 3BG, UK.
Sarah-Jayne BlakemoreInstitute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, 17 Queen Square, London, WC1N 3AR, UK, Department of Psychological Sciences, Birkbeck, University of London, Malet Street, London, WC1E 7HX, UK and Department of Molecular Neuroscience, Institute of Neurology, University College London, Queen Square, London, WC1N 3BG, UK.
Birkbeck, University of London · GBUniversity College London · GB

Funding

Medical Research Council MC_G1000735Wellcome Trust 089698
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) enzyme is a major determinant of prefrontal dopamine levels. The Val(158)Met polymorphism affects COMT enzymatic activity and has been associated with variation in executive function and affective processing. This study investigated the effect of COMT genotype on the flexible modulation of the balance between processing self-generated and processing stimulus-oriented information, in the presence or absence of affective distractors. Analyses included 124 healthy adult participants, who were also assessed on standard working memory (WM) tasks. Relative to Val carriers, Met homozygotes made fewer errors when selecting and manipulating self-generated thoughts. This effect was partly accounted for by an association between COMT genotype and visuospatial WM performance. We also observed a complex interaction between the influence of affective distractors, COMT genotype and sex on task accuracy: male, but not female, participants showed a sensitivity to the affective distractors that was dependent on COMT genotype. This was not accounted for by WM performance. This study provides novel evidence of the role of dopaminergic genetic variation on the ability to select and manipulate self-generated thoughts. The results also suggest sexually dimorphic effects of COMT genotype on the influence of affective distractors on executive function.

Indexed as

GenotypePolymorphism, GeneticAdultAffectAttentionCatechol O-MethyltransferaseExecutive FunctionFemaleHeterozygoteHumansMaleMemory, Short-TermNeuropsychological TestsThinkingYoung AdultCatechol O-Methyltransferaseaffective processingbehavioural geneticsCOMTexecutive functionprefrontal cortex

Identifiers

PMID25190703
PMCPMC4305337
OpenAlexW2116674521

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.