OBJECTIVE To investigate the influence of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) gene variations on cognitive performance and clinical symptomatology in first-episode psychosis (FEP). METHODS We performed BDNF val66met variant genotyping, cognitive testing (verbal fluency and digit spans) and assessments of symptom severity (as assessed with the PANSS) in a population-based sample of FEP pa...

Parkinson's disease (PD) is one of the most common neurodegenerative diseases worldwide. Besides characteristic PD motor features, the disease has important non-motor characteristics such as cognitive impairment. The role of genetic factors in cognitive impairment associated with PD is still unclear. In this study, we examined whether BDNF Val66Met was associated with impaired cognition in Park...

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a neurotrophin produced by neurons and immune cells, promotes neuronal survival and repair during development and after CNS injury. The BDNF-Val66Met polymorphism is functional and induces abnormal intracellular trafficking and decreased BDNF release. Therefore, we investigated the impact of the BDNF-Val66Met polymorphism on the susceptibility and clini...

Natural fluctuations in circulating estradiol are associated with behavioral changes, including severe disturbances in mood and cognition in some women. Common genetic variation in some of the molecular mediators of estradiol effects on these behaviors, in brain regions such as the hippocampus, may explain individual variation in estradiol effects on behavior. We tested whether the common human...

Background—Most anxiety and depressive disorders are twice as common in women compared to men and the sex difference in prevalence typically emerges during adolescence. Hormonal changes across the menstrual cycle and during the postpartum and peri-menopausal periods are associated with increased risk for anxiety and depression symptoms. In humans and animals, reduced brain derived neurotrophic ...

Polymorphisms in the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) gene have been indicated to be associated with schizophrenia. Previous studies have suggested that val66met polymorphism may increase the risk for schizophrenia, although other studies have not confirmed this association. Decreased BDNF levels in the brain and the serum of patients with psychotic disorders have been reported in first...

BACKGROUND The brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) has been considered as an important candidate gene in bipolar disorder (BD); this association has been derived from several genetic and genome-wide studies. A polymorphic variant of the BDNF (Val66Met) confers some differences in the clinical presentation of affective disorders. In this study, we evaluated a sample population from Mexico C...

The BDNF val66met polymorphism (rs6265) influences activity-dependent secretion of brain-derived neurotrophic factor in the synapse, which is crucial for learning and memory. Individuals homozygous or heterozygous for the met allele have lower BDNF secretion than val homozygotes and may be at risk for reduced declarative memory performance, but it remains unclear which types of declarative memo...