Heterosis in COMT Val158Met Polymorphism Contributes to Sex-Differences in Children's Math Anxiety.

Clicks: 371
ID: 89192
2019
Article Quality & Performance Metrics
Overall Quality
Not rated
Combines reader engagement with the AI quality analysis. This article has not been analysed, so there is no overall score — reader engagement is measured and shown alongside.
AI Quality Assessment
Not analyzed
Readership in this journal
Emerging

Ranked #74 of 510 articles by views in Frontiers in psychology

Most read Least read

Bar heights use a square-root scale. Only the 120 most-read articles are drawn; the journal has 510 in total.

Mint this article as an NFT
Not yet minted

Create a permanent, verifiable on-chain record of this article on the Scimatic Network. The NFT is held in your Journament account, and you can withdraw it to your own wallet at any time.

5 SUSD one-off · no wallet required
Sign in to mint
Abstract
Math anxiety (MA) is a phobic reaction to math activities, potentially impairing math achievement. Higher frequency of MA in females is explainable by the interaction between genetic and environmental factors. The molecular-genetic basis of MA has not been investigated. The Val158Met polymorphism, which affects dopamine levels in the prefrontal cortex, has been associated with anxiety manifestations. The valine allele is associated with lower, and the methionine allele with higher, dopamine availability. In the present study, the effects of sex and Val158Met genotypes on MA were investigated: 389 school children aged 7-12 years were assessed for intelligence, numerical estimation, arithmetic achievement and MA and genotyped for Val158Met polymorphism. The Math Anxiety Questionnaire (MAQ) was used to assess the cognitive and affective components of MA. All genotype groups of boys and girls were comparable regarding genotype frequency, age, school grade, numerical estimation, and arithmetic abilities. We compared the results of all possible genetic models: codominance (Val/Val vs. Val/Met vs. Met/Met), heterosis (Val/Met vs. Val/Val Met/Met), valine dominance (Val/Val Val/Met vs. Met/Met), and methionine dominance (Met/Met Val/Met vs. Val/Val). Models were compared using AIC and AIC weights. No significant differences between girls and boys and no effects of the Val158Met polymorphism on numerical estimation and arithmetic achievement were observed. Sex by genotype effects were significant for intelligence and MA. Intelligence scores were higher in Met/Met girls than in girls with at least one valine allele (valine dominance model). The best fitting model for MA was heterosis. In Anxiety Toward Mathematics, heterozygous individuals presented MA levels close to the grand average regardless of sex. Homozygous boys were significantly less and homozygous girls significantly more math anxious. Heterosis has been seldom explored, but in recent years has emerged as the best genetic model for some phenotypes associated with the Val158Met polymorphism. This is the first study to investigate the genetic-molecular basis of MA.
Reference Key
jliocosta2019heterosisfrontiers Use this key to autocite in the manuscript while using SciMatic Manuscript Manager or Thesis Manager
Authors Júlio-Costa, Annelise;Martins, Aline Aparecida Silva;Wood, Guilherme;de Almeida, Máira Pedroso;de Miranda, Marlene;Haase, Vitor Geraldi;Carvalho, Maria Raquel Santos;
Journal Frontiers in psychology
Year 2019
DOI
10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01013
URL
Keywords
sex differences heterosis math anxiety catechol-o-methyltransferase dyscalculia comt

Citations

No citations found. To add a citation, contact the admin at info@scimatic.org

Comments

No comments yet. Be the first to comment on this article.