22 | id == 22
22 | category_id == 4
22 | category_order == 1
22 | category_name == Brain
22 | category_color == #C47AC0
22 | slug == Boost-Your-Cognitive-Ability-with-COMT
22 | title == Give Your Cognitive Ability a Boost (COMT)
22 | meta_description == Personalized genetics blog article
22 | summary == <p style="text-align:justify"><strong>The <em>COMT</em> gene </strong><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Calibri&quot;,sans-serif">&ndash;</span></span><strong> often referred to as the &ldquo;<em>warrior/worrier</em>&rdquo; gene </strong><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Calibri&quot;,sans-serif">&ndash;</span></span><strong> plays a role in many different aspects of your cognition, mood, and personality. In today&rsquo;s post, we&rsquo;ll be focusing specifically on what your <em>COMT</em> genotype says about your overall intelligence, how it works, and what you can do to give your cognitive ability a boost if you carry the non-optimal genotype for this gene!</strong></p>
22 | overall_score_text == Cognitive score (based on COMT gene)
22 | image == https://sd-selfdecode-assets-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/blog/background/Give-Your-Cognitive-Ability-a-Boost-with-the-COMT-Gene_JPG.jpg
22 | author_id == 4
22 | author_name == Matt Carland
22 | author_title == PhD
22 | author_order == 10
22 | author_photo == https://sd-selfdecode-assets-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/blog/author-photo/Matt.jpg
22 | author_intro == <p><strong>Matt received his PhD at the Universit&eacute; de Montr&eacute;al in Neuroscience.</strong></p>    <p>Matt holds multiple degrees in psychology, cognitive science, and neuroscience. He has over a decade of experience in academic research and has published a number of articles in scholarly journals. He currently works as a neuropsychologist in Montreal, where he performs research on the links between personality traits and the development of clinical disorders such as addiction, compulsive gambling, and disordered eating.</p>
22 | reviewer_id == 2
22 | reviewer_name == Joe Cohen
22 | reviewer_title == BS
22 | medical_reviewer_id == 11
22 | medical_reviewer_name == Puya Yazdi
22 | medical_reviewer_title == MD
22 | publish_date == 2019
22 | publish_date == 8
22 | publish_date == 21
22 | avg_rating == 5.0
22 | tags_id == 56
22 | tags_name == Attention
22 | tags_id == 13
22 | tags_name == Cognition
22 | tags_id == 55
22 | tags_name == Cognitive Flexibility
22 | tags_id == 65
22 | tags_name == COMT Gene
22 | tags_id == 51
22 | tags_name == Dopamine
22 | tags_id == 53
22 | tags_name == Epinephrine
22 | tags_id == 54
22 | tags_name == Executive Function
22 | tags_id == 28
22 | tags_name == Intelligence
22 | tags_id == 52
22 | tags_name == Norepinephrine
22 | tags_id == 50
22 | tags_name == Stress
22 | permissions_favorite == False
22 | permissions_rate == False
22 | content_article == <table style="width: 90%; border-collapse: collapse; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" border="1" cellpadding="10"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="width: 100%; text-align: justify;"><strong>Note:</strong><span style="font-weight: 400;"> The </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">COMT</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;"> gene is one of the 45 unique intelligence-related genes that we analyze in our comprehensive </span><a href="https://get.selfdecode.com/mind-protocol-nm/"><strong><em>Cognitive Function DNA Wellness Report</em></strong></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">. If you&rsquo;re interested in learning more about the genes that affect your cognitive ability, and the actionable steps that you can take to boost your cognition even further, check it out!</span></td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <p style="text-align: justify;">&nbsp;</p> <h1 style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Introduction</strong></h1> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">In this post, we&rsquo;ll be talking about the </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">COMT</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;"> gene and the influence it can have on your cognitive functioning.</span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Before we get started, it is important to note that </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">COMT</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;"> is a complex gene with many different functions, and that it can play a role in many different aspects of your health and mental well-being. In this post we&rsquo;ll be focusing primarily on its role in cognitive ability and overall intelligence &ndash; but for a more detailed overview of this gene&rsquo;s many roles in your body and brain, check out </span><a href="https://selfhacked.com/blog/worrier-warrior-explaining-rs4680comt-v158m-gene/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">our comprehensive SelfHacked post on </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">COMT</span></em></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="display: block; border-left: 2px solid #4569fa; padding: 20px; background-color: #e8ebfc;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">In this post we&rsquo;ll focus specifically on the cognitive effects of the </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">COMT</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;"> gene &ndash; but this gene also has many other important functions that are worth looking into!</span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;">&nbsp;</p> <h1 style="text-align: justify;"><strong>What Does The </strong><strong><em>COMT</em></strong><strong> Gene Do?</strong></h1> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">The </span><a href="../../gene/comt/"><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">COMT</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;"> gene</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> codes for an enzyme called </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">catechol-o-methyltransferase</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;"> (COMT). This enzyme helps break down </span><strong><em>catecholamines</em></strong><span style="font-weight: 400;">, a family of neurotransmitters that includes </span><a href="https://selfhacked.com/blog/dopamine/"><strong>dopamine</strong></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://selfhacked.com/blog/norepinephrine-stress-hormone/"><strong>norepinephrine</strong></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, and </span><strong>epinephrine</strong><span style="font-weight: 400;"> (adrenaline) [</span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16878403"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">].</span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">The different variations that people carry in this gene generally affect how much of the COMT enzyme they produce, and therefore how active it is overall [</span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8807664"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">].</span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">This means that if you have </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">higher</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;"> COMT activity, you&rsquo;ll have relatively lower levels of dopamine and norepinephrine, since they will get broken down faster. Conversely, if you have </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">lower</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;"> COMT activity, your levels of these neurotransmitters will tend to be higher, since there will be less of the COMT enzyme around to break them down and make them inactive [</span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8807664"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16878403"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">].</span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-weight: 400; display: block; border-left: 2px solid #4569fa; padding: 20px; background-color: #e8ebfc;">In general, the main role of the <em>COMT</em> gene is to control the overall levels of dopamine, norepinephrine, and epinephrine you have in your brain.</span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;">&nbsp;</p> <h1 style="text-align: justify;"><strong><em>COMT</em></strong><strong>, Stress, and Cognitive Function</strong></h1> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Because it affects your levels of several major neurotransmitters, variants in the </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">COMT</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;"> gene can influence many diverse aspects of your mental well-being, including your mood, how you respond to stress, and certain cognitive abilities.</span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">In general, </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">COMT</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;">&rsquo;s effects on mood and stress probably come from the influence it has on your brain&rsquo;s levels of epinephrine and norepinephrine, two neurotransmitters that are released during the &ldquo;fight-or-flight&rdquo; response. Your levels of these neurotransmitters &ndash; and how quickly your brain can break these down &ndash; are therefore critical factors when it comes to determining how your brain responds to and recovers from stress [</span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27512962"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">].</span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">In contrast, </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">COMT</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;">&rsquo;s effects on cognition probably arise primarily due to its influence on your dopamine levels. This is because many cognitive functions &ndash; such as attention, executive function, and working memory &ndash; depend on having appropriate levels of dopamine in key cognition-related brain areas, such as the prefrontal cortex (PFC) [</span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22483296"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27241058"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16878403"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21471363"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">].</span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">COMT</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;">&rsquo;s role in the stress response has earned it the nickname </span><a href="https://selfhacked.com/blog/worrier-warrior-explaining-rs4680comt-v158m-gene/"><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">the &ldquo;warrior / worrier&rdquo; gene</span></em></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> [</span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17008817"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">].</span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">&ldquo;</span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Warriors</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;">&rdquo; are people who carry variants that produce higher levels of COMT. Because epinephrine and norepinephrine are released during stress, their increased COMT levels allow them to break these neurotransmitters down more quickly, which helps them recover more quickly during periods of stress [</span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15673663"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12595695"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">]. However, because this also lowers their dopamine levels, people with the &ldquo;warrior&rdquo; genotype also tend to have lower-than-average cognitive processing, such as reduced executive functioning, attention, and impulse control [</span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25883560"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23440431"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11381111"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18755576"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16878403"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">].</span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">By contrast, people with the &ldquo;</span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">worrier</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;">&rdquo; genotype break down stress-related neurotransmitters more slowly, meaning that it generally takes them longer to adapt to stress. On the plus side, though, they also tend to have higher baseline levels of dopamine, which gives them a relative advantage when it comes to their cognitive abilities [</span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17687265"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23278923"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18213617"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16878403"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">].</span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Therefore, different <em>COMT</em> genotypes each have their relative advantages and disadvantages [<a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19417742">R</a>].</span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-weight: 400; display: block; border-left: 2px solid #4569fa; padding: 20px; background-color: #e8ebfc;">The <em>COMT</em> gene affects many aspects of cognitive ability, as well as stress and mood. While some variants are associated with enhanced cognitive abilities, the genotypes that people carry in this gene each have their relative strengths and weaknesses.</span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;">&nbsp;</p> <h1 style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Your </strong><strong><em>COMT</em></strong><strong> Genotype</strong></h1> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">One of the most well-studied SNPs in the </span><a href="../../gene/comt/"><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">COMT</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;"> gene</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> is </span><a href="../../snp/rs4680/"><strong>rs4680</strong></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> (also known as the &ldquo;</span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">val158met</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;">&rdquo; polymorphism). It is known to affect cognitive ability, personality, stress, and other important health-related factors [</span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18755576"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17008817"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15673663"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">].</span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">The two possible alleles are &lsquo;A&rsquo; and &lsquo;G&rsquo; &ndash; also known as the &lsquo;</span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">met</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;">&rsquo; and &lsquo;</span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">val</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;">&rsquo; alleles, respectively. The &lsquo;A&rsquo; (&lsquo;</span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">met</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;">&rsquo;) allele is associated with relatively lower COMT enzyme activity (and therefore higher dopamine levels), whereas the &lsquo;G&rsquo; (&lsquo;</span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">val</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;">&rsquo;) allele is linked to higher levels of this enzyme (and lower levels of dopamine) [</span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17689985"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16878403"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">].</span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">You can see your genotype for this SNP in the table below:</span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;">*3042193899164957*</p> <p style="text-align: justify;">*5841117172932693*</p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><strong><br />When it comes to cognitive function, it is better to have the &lsquo;A&rsquo; (</strong><strong><em>&lsquo;met</em></strong><strong>&rsquo;) allele.</strong></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">For example, a study of 92 Israeli children and adults found that the group with the &lsquo;A&rsquo; allele tended to have IQ scores that were up to </span><strong>14% higher</strong><span style="font-weight: 400;"> than those of the &lsquo;G&rsquo; allele group [</span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24853458"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16542388"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">].</span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Similarly, the &lsquo;A&rsquo; allele has also been linked to better performance in a variety of specific cognitive functions. For example, this allele has been linked to a ~4% advantage in working memory and attention tasks [</span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16878403"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28273278"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">].</span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Similar benefits for the &lsquo;A&rsquo; allele have been found for other aspects of cognitive function as well, such as reading ability [<a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23278923">R</a>], long-term memory [<a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26973509">R</a>, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27091610">R</a>], processing speed [<a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12372660">R</a>], cognitive flexibility [<a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28635556">R</a>, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17325717">R</a>, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17689985">R</a>], and non-verbal intelligence [<a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19077115">R</a>].</span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="display: block; border-left: 2px solid #4569fa; padding: 20px; background-color: #e8ebfc;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">The &lsquo;A&rsquo; (&lsquo;</span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">met</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;">&rsquo;) allele of rs4680 is associated with relatively enhanced cognitive ability, whereas the &lsquo;G&rsquo; (&lsquo;</span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">val</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;">&rsquo;) allele is associated with relatively poorer cognitive ability.</span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;">&nbsp;</p> <h1 style="text-align: justify;"><strong>What You Can Do To Improve Your Genotype</strong></h1> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">If you carry the &lsquo;G&rsquo; (&lsquo;</span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">val</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;">&rsquo;) allele for this SNP, don&rsquo;t worry! There are several steps you can take to help enhance your cognitive ability even further.</span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">The highest levels of cognitive performance are associated with carriers of the &lsquo;AA&rsquo; genotype, whose COMT levels are the lowest of all the genotypes for this SNP. Therefore, this suggests that you gain some of the similar cognitive advantages &lsquo;AA&rsquo; carriers have by supplementing with compounds that can reduce your overall level of COMT activity.</span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;">*2914565956046357*</p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Two compounds that can inhibit COMT enzyme activity are </span><strong>quercetin</strong><span style="font-weight: 400;"> and </span><strong>fisetin</strong><span style="font-weight: 400;">, both of which are </span><strong><em>flavonoids</em></strong><span style="font-weight: 400;"> that are naturally found in many different species of plants [</span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29281938"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27826992"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22438067"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27826992"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">].</span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">In addition to reducing COMT activity directly, these plant flavonoids also have a number of additional benefits:</span></p> <ul style="text-align: justify;"> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://selfhacked.com/blog/quercetin-22-scientifically-proven-benefits-quercetin/"><strong>Quercetin</strong></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> is a potent antioxidant that fights inflammation, boosts the immune system, protects the cardiovascular system, and may even help prevent cancer [</span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12074969"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15019969"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26393898"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17312997"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28082789"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">]. Quercetin also improves learning and memory in mice [</span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17312997"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16707173"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">], and reduces cognitive dysfunction in mouse models of Alzheimer&rsquo;s disease [</span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29736217"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">]. Quercetin is safe when taken as a supplement [</span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18187018"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26393898"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">]. It can also be found in many common foods such as fruits and vegetables, nuts, honey, raw capers, and black and </span><a href="https://selfhacked.com/blog/green-tea/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">green tea</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> [</span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26999194"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">].<br /><br /></span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://selfhacked.com/blog/15-science-based-health-benefits-fisetin-1-favorite/"><strong>Fisetin</strong></a> fights inflammation, prevents cancer, and promotes brain growth by increasing <a href="https://selfhacked.com/blog/a-comprehensive-list-of-natural-ways-to-increase-bdnf/">BDNF</a> [<a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23121441">R</a>, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22234339">R</a>, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23688860">R</a>]. Fisetin also enhances learning and memory, reduces oxidative stress, fights against age-related cognitive decline, and acts as a general <strong>cognitive enhancer</strong> [<a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19756810">R</a>, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23688860">R</a>, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17050681">R</a>]. This amazing compound may even increase overall lifespan by activating <a href="https://selfhacked.com/blog/nad-and-sirt1-their-role-in-chronic-health-issues/"><em>SIRT-1</em></a> [<a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26499075">R</a>], a gene associated with longevity [<a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19713122">R</a>, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24011076">R</a>]. Fisetin is found in many fruits and vegetables &ndash; such as strawberries, apples, persimmons, grapes, onions, and cucumbers &ndash; and can also be taken as a supplement [<a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23121441">R</a>].</li> </ul> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="display: block; border-left: 2px solid #4569fa; padding: 20px; background-color: #e8ebfc;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Better cognitive ability is associated with relatively lower levels of the COMT enzyme. Therefore, the best way to counteract non-optimal </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">COMT</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;"> genotypes is to supplement with compounds that inhibit COMT.</span></span></p>
22 | content_snp_table_3042193899164957_key == 3042193899164957
22 | content_snp_table_3042193899164957_blur == True
22 | content_snp_table_3042193899164957_hidden == False
22 | content_learn_more_5841117172932693_key == 5841117172932693
22 | content_learn_more_5841117172932693_blur == True
22 | content_learn_more_5841117172932693_hidden == False
22 | content_learn_more_5841117172932693_text == Based on your data for this SNP, you have a relatively balanced COMT genotype. While you don't quite have all the cognitive advantages of the "worrier" ('AA') genotype, you also don't have their increased vulnerability to stress.
22 | content_recommendation_2914565956046357_key == 2914565956046357
22 | content_recommendation_2914565956046357_blur == True
22 | content_recommendation_2914565956046357_hidden == False
rsIDs = rs4680
rsStatus = rs4680,COMT,chr22,19963748,G,A,,,19,11,HET
