No Association between (AAT)n Repeat Polymorphisms in the Cannabinoid Receptor 1 Gene and Smooth Pursuit Eye Movement Abnormality in Korean Patients with Schizophrenia

OBJECTIVES: According to previous studies, the cannabinoid receptor 1 (CNR1) gene could be an important candidate gene for schizophrenia. Some studies have linked the (AAT)n trinucleotide repeat polymorphism in CNR1 gene with the risk of schizophrenia. Meanwhile, smooth pursuit eye movement (SPEM) has been regarded as one of the most consistent endophenotypes of schizophrenia. In this study, we investigated the association between the (AAT)n trinucleotide repeats in CNR1 gene and SPEM abnormality in Korean patients with schizophrenia. METHODS: We measured SPEM function in 167 Korean patients with schizophrenia (84 male, 83 female) and they were divided according to SPEM function into two groups, good and poor SPEM function groups. We also investigated allele frequencies of (AAT)n repeat polymorphisms on CNR1 gene in each group. A logistic regression analysis was performed to find the association between SPEM abnormality and the number of (AAT)n trinucleotide repeats. RESULTS: The natural logarithm value of signal/noise ratio (Ln S/N ratio) of the good SPEM function group was 4.34 ± 0.29 and that of the poor SPEM function group was 3.21 ± 0.70. In total, 7 types of trinucleotide repeats were identified, each containing 7, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, and 15 repeats, respectively. In the patients with (AAT)₇ allele, the distributions of the good and poor SPEM function groups were 18 (11.1%) and 19 (11.0%) respectively. In the patients with (AAT)₁₀ allele, (AAT)₁₁ allele, (AAT)₁₂ allele, (AAT)₁₃ allele, (AAT)₁₄ allele and (AAT)₁₅ allele, the distributions of good and poor SPEM function groups were 13 (8.0%) and 12 (7.0%), 4 (2.5%) and 6 (3.5%), 31 (19.8%) and 35 (20.3%), 51 (31.5%) and 51 (29.7%), 36 (22.2%) and 45 (26.2%), 9 (5.6%) and 4 (2.3%) respectively. As the number of (AAT) n repeat increased, there was no aggravation of abnormality of SPEM function. CONCLUSIONS: There was no significant aggravation of SPEM abnormality along with the increase of number of (AAT)n trinucleotide repeats in the CNR1 gene in Korean patients with schizophrenia.

Influence of Depression on Working Memory Measured by Digit Backward Span in the Subjects with Mild Cognitive Impairment and Dementia

OBJECTIVES: We aimed to explore the influence of depression on working memory in patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and dementia. METHODS: Clinical and neuropsychological data of 43 subjects with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) (n=17) and dementia (n=26) who had visited Department of Psychiatry at Soonchunhyang University Seoul Hospital, were collected. The subjects were divided into depressed (n=18) and non-depressed (n=25) groups based on the Korean version of Short Geriatric Depression Scale. Two-way analysis of variance test was conducted to evaluate the influence of diagnosis (MCI and dementia), the presence of depression and their interaction on working memory which was measured by digit forward and backward span test. RESULTS: Among the patients with MCI, test score of digit backward span test in depressed group was significantly lower than in non-depressed group. However, among the patients with dementia, there was no significant difference in digit backward span test between depressed and non-depressed groups. CONCLUSION: This study suggests that the depression could deteriorate working memory measured by digit backward span test in patients with MCI, relative to in patients with dementia and it also implicates the diagnostic assessment for depression has clinically importance in patients with MCI.