{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,27]],"date-time":"2025-09-27T10:50:32Z","timestamp":1758970232393},"reference-count":43,"publisher":"MIT Press - Journals","issue":"3","content-domain":{"domain":["direct.mit.edu"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":[],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2015,3,1]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title>\n               <jats:p>Humans with seven or more repeats in exon III of the DRD4 gene (long DRD4 carriers) sometimes demonstrate impaired attention, as seen in attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, and at other times demonstrate heightened attention, as seen in addictive behavior. Although the clinical effects of DRD4 are the focus of much work, this gene may not necessarily serve as a \u201crisk\u201d gene for attentional deficits, but as a plasticity gene where attention is heightened for priority items in the environment and impaired for minor items. Here we examine the role of DRD4 in two tasks that benefit from selective attention to high-priority information. We examine a category learning task where performance is supported by focusing on features and updating verbal rules. Here, selective attention to the most salient features is associated with good performance. In addition, we examine the Operation Span (OSPAN) task, a working memory capacity task that relies on selective attention to update and maintain items in memory while also performing a secondary task. Long DRD4 carriers show superior performance relative to short DRD4 homozygotes (six or less tandem repeats) in both the category learning and OSPAN tasks. These results suggest that DRD4 may serve as a \u201cplasticity\u201d gene where individuals with the long allele show heightened selective attention to high-priority items in the environment, which can be beneficial in the appropriate context.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1162\/jocn_a_00724","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2014,9,22]],"date-time":"2014-09-22T13:09:40Z","timestamp":1411391380000},"page":"509-521","update-policy":"http:\/\/dx.doi.org\/10.1162\/mitpressjournals.corrections.policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":10,"title":["<i>DRD4<\/i> Long Allele Carriers Show Heightened Attention to High-priority Items Relative to Low-priority Items"],"prefix":"10.1162","volume":"27","author":[{"given":"Marissa A.","family":"Gorlick","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"1University of Texas at Austin"}]},{"given":"Darrell A.","family":"Worthy","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"2Texas A&M"}]},{"given":"Valerie S.","family":"Knopik","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"3Rhode Island Hospital and Brown University"}]},{"given":"John E.","family":"McGeary","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"4Providence Veterans Affairs Medical Center"}]},{"given":"Christopher G.","family":"Beevers","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"1University of Texas at Austin"}]},{"given":"W. Todd","family":"Maddox","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"1University of Texas at Austin"}]}],"member":"281","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2015,3,1]]},"reference":[{"key":"2021073001001759600_R1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1154","DOI":"10.1016\/j.visres.2008.07.012","article-title":"Top\u2013down and bottom\u2013up mechanisms in biasing competition in the human brain.","volume":"49","author":"Beck","year":"2009","journal-title":"Vision Research"},{"key":"2021073001001759600_R2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"885","DOI":"10.1037\/a0017376","article-title":"Beyond diathesis stress: Differential susceptibility to environmental influences.","volume":"135","author":"Belsky","year":"2009","journal-title":"Psychological Bulletin"},{"key":"2021073001001759600_R3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"165","DOI":"10.1007\/s10519-010-9437-y","article-title":"A family based association study of DRD4, DAT1, and 5HTT and continuous traits of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder.","volume":"41","author":"Bidwell","year":"2011","journal-title":"Behavior Genetics"},{"key":"2021073001001759600_R4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"16","DOI":"10.1186\/1744-859X-5-16","article-title":"A cross-sectional analysis of video games and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder symptoms in adolescents.","volume":"5","author":"Chan","year":"2006","journal-title":"Annals of General Psychiatry"},{"key":"2021073001001759600_R5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"331","DOI":"10.3758\/BF03196169","article-title":"The cocktail party phenomenon revisited: The importance of working memory capacity.","volume":"8","author":"Conway","year":"2001","journal-title":"Psychonomic Bulletin & Review"},{"key":"2021073001001759600_R6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"769","DOI":"10.3758\/BF03196772","article-title":"Working memory span tasks: A methodological review and user's guide.","volume":"12","author":"Conway","year":"2005","journal-title":"Psychonomic Bulletin & Review"},{"key":"2021073001001759600_R7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"309","DOI":"10.1073\/pnas.012464099","article-title":"Evidence for positive selection acting at the human dopamine receptor D4 gene locus.","volume":"99","author":"Ding","year":"2002","journal-title":"Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, U.S.A."},{"key":"2021073001001759600_R8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"19","DOI":"10.1111\/1467-8721.00160","article-title":"Working memory capacity as executive attention.","volume":"11","author":"Engle","year":"2002","journal-title":"Current Directions in Psychological Science"},{"key":"2021073001001759600_R9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"309","DOI":"10.1037\/0096-3445.128.3.309","article-title":"Working memory, short-term memory, and general fluid intelligence: A latent-variable approach.","volume":"128","author":"Engle","year":"1999","journal-title":"Journal of Experimental Psychology: General"},{"key":"2021073001001759600_R10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"51","DOI":"10.1007\/s00439-009-0694-x","article-title":"Candidate gene studies of ADHD: A meta-analytic review.","volume":"126","author":"Gizer","year":"2009","journal-title":"Human Genetics"},{"key":"2021073001001759600_R11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1011","DOI":"10.1037\/a0028225","article-title":"Double dissociation between lab measures of inattention and impulsivity and the dopamine transporter gene (DAT1) and dopamine D4 receptor gene (DRD4).","volume":"121","author":"Gizer","year":"2012","journal-title":"Journal of Abnormal Psychology"},{"key":"2021073001001759600_R12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"120","DOI":"10.1037\/a0024971","article-title":"Normal aging and the dissociable prototype learning systems.","volume":"27","author":"Glass","year":"2012","journal-title":"Psychology and Aging"},{"key":"2021073001001759600_R13","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e60748","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0060748","article-title":"Priming for performance: Valence of emotional primes interact with dissociable prototype learning systems.","volume":"8","author":"Gorlick","year":"2013","journal-title":"PLoS One"},{"key":"2021073001001759600_R14","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"361","DOI":"10.2307\/2532296","article-title":"Performing the exact test of Hardy-Weinberg proportion for multiple alleles.","volume":"48","author":"Guo","year":"1992","journal-title":"Biometrics"},{"key":"2021073001001759600_R15","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"134","DOI":"10.1037\/0021-843X.111.1.134","article-title":"The DRD4 VNTR polymorphism influences reactivity to smoking cues.","volume":"111","author":"Hutchison","year":"2002","journal-title":"Journal of Abnormal Psychology"},{"key":"2021073001001759600_R16","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1882","DOI":"10.1038\/sj.npp.1300264","article-title":"Olanzapine reduces craving for alcohol: A DRD4 VNTR polymorphism by pharmacotherapy interaction.","volume":"28","author":"Hutchison","year":"2003","journal-title":"Neuropsychopharmacology"},{"key":"2021073001001759600_R17","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1428","DOI":"10.1016\/j.neuropsychologia.2010.12.020","article-title":"Common neural mechanisms supporting spatial working memory, attention and motor intention.","volume":"49","author":"Ikkai","year":"2011","journal-title":"Neuropsychologia"},{"key":"2021073001001759600_R18","first-page":"547","article-title":"Bayesian surprise attracts human attention.","volume":"18","author":"Itti","year":"2006","journal-title":"Advances in Neural Information Processing Systems"},{"key":"2021073001001759600_R19","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"169","DOI":"10.1037\/0096-3445.130.2.169","article-title":"A controlled-attention view of working-memory capacity.","volume":"130","author":"Kane","year":"2001","journal-title":"Journal of Experimental Psychology: General"},{"key":"2021073001001759600_R20","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"305","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1469-7610.2012.02604.x","article-title":"Links between DRD4, executive attention, and alphabetic skills in a nonclinical sample.","volume":"54","author":"Kegel","year":"2012","journal-title":"Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry"},{"key":"2021073001001759600_R21","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"69","DOI":"10.1002\/humu.20822","article-title":"Ancestry informative marker sets for determining continental origin and admixture proportions in common populations in America.","volume":"30","author":"Kosoy","year":"2009","journal-title":"Human Mutation"},{"key":"2021073001001759600_R22","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"711","DOI":"10.1038\/sj.mp.4001466","article-title":"Transmission disequilibrium testing of dopamine-related candidate gene polymorphisms in ADHD: Confirmation of association of ADHD with DRD4 and DRD5.","volume":"9","author":"Kustanovich","year":"2003","journal-title":"Molecular Psychiatry"},{"key":"2021073001001759600_R23","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"133","DOI":"10.1176\/appi.ajp.161.1.133","article-title":"Association of the dopamine D4 receptor gene 7-repeat allele with neuropsychological test performance of children with ADHD.","volume":"161","author":"Langley","year":"2004","journal-title":"American Journal of Psychiatry"},{"key":"2021073001001759600_R24","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"87","DOI":"10.1016\/j.biopsych.2006.05.025","article-title":"Novelty seeking involved in mediating the association between the dopamine D4 receptor gene exon III polymorphism and heavy drinking in male adolescents: Results from a high-risk community sample.","volume":"61","author":"Laucht","year":"2007","journal-title":"Biological Psychiatry"},{"key":"2021073001001759600_R25","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"477","DOI":"10.1097\/01.chi.0000155980.01792.7f","article-title":"Association of the DRD4 exon III polymorphism with smoking in fifteen-year-olds: A mediating role for novelty seeking?","volume":"44","author":"Laucht","year":"2005","journal-title":"Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry"},{"key":"2021073001001759600_R26","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"224","DOI":"10.1016\/S0924-9338(97)83296-8","article-title":"The Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI). A short diagnostic structured interview: Reliability and validity according to the CIDI.","volume":"12","author":"Lecrubier","year":"1997","journal-title":"European Psychiatry"},{"key":"2021073001001759600_R27","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyg.2012.00241","article-title":"Evidence for arousal-biased competition in perceptual learning.","volume":"3","author":"Lee","year":"2012","journal-title":"Frontiers in Psychology"},{"key":"2021073001001759600_R28","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"767","DOI":"10.1093\/hmg\/2.6.767","article-title":"A hypervariable segment in the human dopamine receptor D4 (DRD4) gene.","volume":"2","author":"Lichter","year":"1993","journal-title":"Human Molecular Genetics"},{"key":"2021073001001759600_R29","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"790","DOI":"10.1038\/sj.mp.4001078","article-title":"The short DRD4 repeats confer risk to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in a family-based design and impair performance on a continuous performance test (TOVA).","volume":"7","author":"Manor","year":"2001","journal-title":"Molecular Psychiatry"},{"key":"2021073001001759600_R30","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"222","DOI":"10.1016\/j.pbb.2009.03.010","article-title":"Pharmacology, biochemistry and behavior.","volume":"93","author":"McGeary","year":"2009","journal-title":"Pharmacology, Biochemistry and Behavior"},{"key":"2021073001001759600_R31","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"197","DOI":"10.1016\/j.biopsych.2007.04.006","article-title":"Association of the dopamine D4 receptor (DRD4) gene and approach-related personality traits: Meta-analysis and new data.","volume":"63","author":"Munaf\u00f2","year":"2008","journal-title":"Biological Psychiatry"},{"key":"2021073001001759600_R32","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"303","DOI":"10.1016\/S0014-2999(00)00562-8","article-title":"The dopamine D4 receptor: One decade of research.","volume":"405","author":"Oak","year":"2000","journal-title":"European Journal of Pharmacology"},{"key":"2021073001001759600_R33","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"385","DOI":"10.1177\/014662167700100306","article-title":"The CES-D Scale: A self-report depression scale for research in the general population.","volume":"1","author":"Radloff","year":"1977","journal-title":"Applied Psychological Measurement"},{"key":"2021073001001759600_R34","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"193","DOI":"10.1038\/nrn1052","article-title":"Neural mechanisms for detecting and remembering novel events.","volume":"4","author":"Ranganath","year":"2003","journal-title":"Nature Reviews Neuroscience"},{"key":"2021073001001759600_R35","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"238","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1369-1600.2008.00120.x","article-title":"The dopamine D4 receptor (DRD4) gene exon III polymorphism, problematic alcohol use and novelty seeking: Direct and mediated genetic effects.","volume":"14","author":"Ray","year":"2009","journal-title":"Addiction Biology"},{"key":"2021073001001759600_R36","first-page":"22","article-title":"The Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI): The development and validation of a structured diagnostic psychiatric interview for DSM-IV and ICD-10.","volume":"58","author":"Sheehan","year":"1998","journal-title":"Journal of Clinical Psychiatry"},{"key":"2021073001001759600_R37","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1317","DOI":"10.1126\/science.3629243","article-title":"Toward a universal law of generalization for psychological science.","volume":"237","author":"Shepard","year":"1987","journal-title":"Science"},{"key":"2021073001001759600_R38","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"385","DOI":"10.1016\/j.paid.2009.04.008","article-title":"Fifty years of the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale: An update and review.","volume":"47","author":"Stanford","year":"2009","journal-title":"Personality and Individual Differences"},{"key":"2021073001001759600_R39","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"643","DOI":"10.1037\/h0054651","article-title":"Studies of interference in serial verbal reactions.","volume":"18","author":"Stroop","year":"1935","journal-title":"Journal of Experimental Psychology"},{"key":"2021073001001759600_R40","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"4754","DOI":"10.1073\/pnas.080070897","article-title":"Attention deficit\/hyperactivity disorder children with a 7-repeat allele of the dopamine receptor D4 gene have extreme behavior but normal performance on critical neuropsychological tests of attention.","volume":"97","author":"Swanson","year":"2000","journal-title":"Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, U.S.A."},{"key":"2021073001001759600_R41","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"67","DOI":"10.1016\/j.intell.2004.08.003","article-title":"Working memory capacity and fluid abilities: Examining the correlation between Operation Span and Raven.","volume":"33","author":"Unsworth","year":"2005","journal-title":"Intelligence"},{"key":"2021073001001759600_R42","volume-title":"Manual for the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised (WAIS-R)","author":"Wechsler","year":"1981"},{"key":"2021073001001759600_R43","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"525","DOI":"10.1017\/S1461145712000478","article-title":"Dopamine D4 receptor gene variation is associated with context-dependent attention for emotion stimuli.","volume":"16","author":"Wells","year":"2012","journal-title":"The International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology"}],"container-title":["Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"http:\/\/direct.mit.edu\/jocn\/article-pdf\/27\/3\/509\/1948943\/jocn_a_00724.pdf","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"syndication"},{"URL":"http:\/\/direct.mit.edu\/jocn\/article-pdf\/27\/3\/509\/1948943\/jocn_a_00724.pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2021,7,30]],"date-time":"2021-07-30T01:34:11Z","timestamp":1627608851000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/direct.mit.edu\/jocn\/article\/27\/3\/509\/28297\/DRD4-Long-Allele-Carriers-Show-Heightened"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2015,3,1]]},"references-count":43,"journal-issue":{"issue":"3","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2015,3,1]]},"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2015,3,1]]}},"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1162\/jocn_a_00724","relation":{},"ISSN":["0898-929X","1530-8898"],"issn-type":[{"value":"0898-929X","type":"print"},{"value":"1530-8898","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published-other":{"date-parts":[[2015,3]]},"published":{"date-parts":[[2015,3,1]]}}}