AUTHOR=Jiang Weili , Shang Siyuan , Su Yanjie 

TITLE=Genetic influences on insight problem solving: the role of catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) gene polymorphisms

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Psychology

VOLUME=6

YEAR=2015

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01569

DOI=10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01569

ISSN=1664-1078

ABSTRACT=<p>People may experience an “aha” moment, when suddenly realizing a solution of a puzzling problem. This experience is called insight problem solving. Several findings suggest that catecholamine-related genes may contribute to insight problem solving, among which the catechol-<italic>O</italic>-methyltransferase (<italic>COMT</italic>) gene is the most promising candidate. The current study examined 753 healthy individuals to determine the associations between 7 candidate single nucleotide polymorphisms on the <italic>COMT</italic> gene and insight problem-solving performance, while considering gender differences. The results showed that individuals carrying A allele of rs4680 or T allele of rs4633 scored significantly higher on insight problem-solving tasks, and the <italic>COMT</italic> gene rs5993883 combined with gender interacted with correct solutions of insight problems, specifically showing that this gene only influenced insight problem-solving performance in males. This study presents the first investigation of the genetic impact on insight problem solving and provides evidence that highlights the role that the <italic>COMT</italic> gene plays in insight problem solving.</p>