Association of the GRIN2B Gene Polymorphism with Verbal Fluency and Impairments to Abstract Thought in Schizophrenia

Objective. This study was conducted to seek associations between the GRIN2B gene and signs of impairments to thought and speech in schizophrenia, which may be based on access to the mental lexicon. Materials and methods. A group 552 patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders were studied to establish associations between the rs7301328 polymorphism of the GRIN2B gene and semantic verbal fluency and five symptoms of impairments to thought and speech on the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS). Results and conclusions. Associations between the GRIN2B gene and verbal fluency (p = 0.013) and impairment to abstract thought (p = 0.012) were found. Verbal fluency was not found to have a mediatory role in the association between the gene and the impairment to thought. These results suggest that the GRIN2B gene has a modifying action on language processes extracting information from the mental lexicon on the basis of semantic features and, furthermore, that it makes a contribution to the variability of clinically marked impairments to abstract thought in patients with schizophrenia. The heterozygous genotype may be protective in relation to the development of thought and speech pathology.

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