rs4680
COMT, the ‘warrior or worrier’ gene, and why that framing is wrong
What this position does
COMT clears dopamine from the prefrontal cortex, and this change slows the enzyme down. It became famous as the gene that decides whether you are a calm performer or an anxious over-thinker. That framing has not held up, which is exactly why it is worth showing you.
What each result means
| If you carry | What it means |
|---|---|
| No copies of the effect version GG | Faster enzyme, two copies Dopamine is cleared from the prefrontal cortex relatively quickly. Popular accounts call this the ‘warrior’ version. |
| One copy AG | One of each The most common genotype, sitting between the two. |
| Two copies AA | Slower enzyme, two copies Dopamine lingers longer. Popular accounts call this the ‘worrier’ version and attach a great deal to it. |
Worth knowing. The enzyme difference is real and well established. The personality story attached to it is not: large studies have repeatedly failed to replicate the effects on anxiety, stress response and cognition that made this variant famous. If a product ranks you as a warrior or a worrier on this one letter, that tells you about the product.
How common each version is
| Ancestry group | A (the effect version) | |
|---|---|---|
| African | 28.1% | |
| American | 37.8% | |
| East Asian | 28.0% | |
| European | 50.0% | |
| South Asian | 44.1% |
1000 Genomes Project phase 3, via Ensembl, retrieved 2026-09-23. These groupings are coarse and flatten a great deal of internal diversity, particularly within Africa. A variant being common somewhere tells you where a piece of your ancestry probably comes from, and nothing else.
How many people carry each result
| Ancestry group | GG | AG | AA |
|---|---|---|---|
| African | 348 / 661 | 255 / 661 | 58 / 661 |
| European | 133 / 503 | 237 / 503 | 133 / 503 |
| East Asian | 264 / 504 | 198 / 504 | 42 / 504 |
| South Asian | 161 / 489 | 225 / 489 | 103 / 489 |
| American | 128 / 347 | 176 / 347 | 43 / 347 |
Counts of people, not modelled frequencies: every one of the 2,504 individuals sequenced by the 1000 Genomes Project phase 3, tallied by the genotype they carry. Deriving these from allele frequencies instead would assume random mating inside each group and undercount the homozygotes.
How to find out which you have
If you have taken a test with 23andMe, AncestryDNA, MyHeritage, Family Tree DNA, TellMeGen or Living DNA, this position is very likely already in the raw data file they gave you. You do not need another test.
One thing to watch if you look it up by hand: testing companies report some positions from one DNA strand and some from the other, and the file does not say which. Read the letters as they appear and you will get the opposite of the truth for some positions. Sequencings resolves that automatically.
Source
Lachman et al., Human catechol-O-methyltransferase pharmacogenetics, Pharmacogenetics (1996)
Coordinates and allele pair verified against Ensembl GRCh37. Direction of effect verified against VEP protein consequences or 1000 Genomes population frequency. Category: Trait.
Common questions
What is rs4680?
rs4680 is a position in the COMT gene on chromosome 22. COMT clears dopamine from the prefrontal cortex, and this change slows the enzyme down. It became famous as the gene that decides whether you are a calm performer or an anxious over-thinker. That framing has not held up, which is exactly why it is worth showing you.
What does it mean if I have AA at rs4680?
Slower enzyme, two copies. Dopamine lingers longer. Popular accounts call this the ‘worrier’ version and attach a great deal to it.
What does it mean if I have GG at rs4680?
Faster enzyme, two copies. Dopamine is cleared from the prefrontal cortex relatively quickly. Popular accounts call this the ‘warrior’ version.
How do I find out my rs4680 genotype?
If you have taken a home DNA test, this position is very likely in the raw data file you were given. Sequencings reads that file in your browser without uploading it, and resolves which DNA strand each position was reported from, which is the step most manual lookups get wrong.
This is reference information, not medical advice, and not a diagnosis. See the medical disclaimer. Category: Trait.