ИСТИНА

Several lines of research have reported that functional polymorphism in the catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) gene that is responsible for substantial variability in COMT enzymatic activity is associated with aggression and impulsivity. The most of recent researches have been conducted on males therefore we suggest that it is important to investigate an association of aggression with COMT genotypes in females. A common low-activity variant of the enzyme contains a Met residue at amino acid 158 of COMT whereas the common high activity variant has a Val at this site. Considering the role of COMT in dopamine metabolism and the involvement of dopaminergic pathways in the formation of aggression, we screened athletes (78 females) and non-trained control group (83 females) to determine whether a behavioral association with the COMT polymorphism exists or not. Case-control analyses suggested a strong association between the ValVal genotype in both groups and high aggressive and dangerous behavior (P < 0.04). Also we have found that allele distribution is different in the groups and it could be the evidence of genetic propensity in sports.