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*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleResearchpeer-review

1 Citation (Scopus)
85 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
JournalCurrent Psychology
DOIs
Publication statusE-pub ahead of print - 28 Dec 2021
Externally publishedYes

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