COMT val158met predicts reward responsiveness in humans

A functional variant of the catechol‐O‐methyltransferase (COMT) gene val158met (rs4680)] is frequently implicated in decision‐making and higher cognitive functions. It may achieve its effects by modulating dopamine‐related decision‐making and reward‐guided behaviour. Here we demonstrate that individuals with the met/met polymorphism have greater responsiveness to reward than carriers of the val allele and that this correlates with risk‐seeking behaviour. We assessed performance on a reward responsiveness task and the Balloon analogue risk task, which measure how participants (N = 70, western European, university and postgraduate students) respond to reward and take risks in the presence of available reward. Individuals with the met/met genotype (n = 19) showed significantly higher reward responsiveness, F_2,64 = 4.02, P = 0.02, and reward‐seeking behaviour, F(2,68) = 4.52, P = 0.01, than did either val/met (n = 25) or val/val (n = 26) carriers. These results highlight a scenario in which genotype‐dependent reward responsiveness shapes reward‐seeking, therefore suggesting a novel framework by which COMT may modulate behaviour.