Childhood traumatic events and the dopaminergic theory of psychosis: a mini-review of studies investigating gene – environment interactions

Dorota Frydecka, Eid Abo Hamza, Ahmed Helal, Ahmed A. Moustafa

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    1 Citation (Scopus)
    2 Downloads (Pure)

    Abstract

    There is great body of evidence showing a relationship between childhood adversity and psychosis onset. Genetic factors moderate the association between childhood adversity and psychosis risk potentially by influencing biological and/or psychological reaction following exposure to adversity. In this review, we discuss studies identifying the specific genetic variants known to affect dopamine levels involved in this interaction. Our review shows that the catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT), dopamine D2 receptor (DRD2), AKT1 gene play a key role in mediating the relationship between childhood adversity and development of psychosis. We have also found conflicting findings on the impact of dopamine genes on the relationship between childhood adversity and development of psychosis, suggesting that other genetic and environmental factors should be taken into account. We here discuss the implications of our findings and future directions.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)12296-12305
    Number of pages10
    JournalCurrent Psychology
    Volume42
    Issue number14
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - May 2023

    Bibliographical note

    Publisher Copyright:
    © 2021, The Author(s).

    Keywords

    • Dopamine
    • Gene-environment interaction
    • Polygenic risk
    • Psychosis
    • Schizophrenia
    • Stress
    • Trauma

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