An Exploratory Study on Motor Interventions Effect on Divergent Thinking: The Role of the DRD2 C/T rs6277 Polymorphism

The aim of the current study was to examine the gene-motor intervention interaction effect, i.e., DRD2 C/T rs6277 genetic polymorphism and motor intervention, on divergent thinking indices. Ninety healthy students (45 females, 45 males, age 25.35+2.69) were recruited and randomly allocated to 3 conditions: control, aerobic dance, and movement improvisation, which lasted 5 weeks, 10 sessions each. Buccal epithelial cells were collected from all participants using cytology brushes. DNA was extracted from buccal swab specimens and genotyped for DRD2 C/T rs6277. Results revealed that figural fluency and flexibility scores of participants carrying DRD2 rs6277 CC and CT genotypes remained somewhat stable under all conditions, while DRD2 rs6277 TT carrier scores increased for the participants in the aerobic dance and movement improvisation conditions and decreased under the control condition. A similar trend was observed for figural originality. TT carriers’ verbal fluency and flexibility also benefited from aerobic dancing and movement improvisation. These results highlight complex interactions between genotypes and motor intervention conditions.