Understanding how genes impact the brain's functional activation for learning and cognition during development remains limited. We asked whether a common genetic variant in the BDNF gene (the Val66Met polymorphism) modulates neural activation in the young brain during a critical period for the emergence and maturation of the neural circuitry for reading. In animal models, the bdnf variation has...

BACKGROUND The human Val66Met polymorphism in brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a key factor in neuroplasticity, synaptic function, and cognition, has been implicated in the pathophysiology of neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders. BDNF is encoded by multiple transcripts with distinct regulation and localization, but the impact of the Val66Met polymorphism on BDNF regulation ...

BACKGROUND Adverse childhood experiences have been described as one of the major environmental risk factors for depressive disorder. Similarly, the deleterious impact of early traumatic experiences on depression seems to be moderated by individual genetic variability. Serotonin transporter (5-HTT) and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) modulate the effect of childhood adversity on adult d...

BACKGROUND Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of metabolic risk factors including dyslipidemia, impaired glucose tolerance, hypertension and central obesity. BDNF (Brain-derived neurotrophic factor) and leptin have been implied in the energy homeostasis. The purposes of this study were to examine concentrations of leptin, BDNF and biochemical parameters in metabolic-syndrome subjects and healthy c...

BACKGROUND Following voxel-based morphometry (VBM), brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) Val66Met polymorphism (rs6265) has been shown to affect human brain morphology in Caucasians. However, little is known about the specific role of the Met/Met genotype on brain structure. Moreover, the relationship between BDNF Val66Met polymorphism and Chinese brain morphology has not been studied. ME...

OBJECTIVES Association of the valine/methionine variant at codon 66 (Val66Met) of brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) has been reported inconsistently across a spectrum of psychiatric disorders. Haplotypes of six tagging single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of a 37-kb region of dystrobrevin-binding protein 1 (DTNBP1) were found to be associated with schizophrenia. These haplotypes have n...

A variation in the BDNF gene (val66met) affects the function of BDNF in neurons, predicts variation in human memory, and is associated with several neurological and psychiatric disorders. Here, we show that, in magnetic resonance imaging scans of a large sample of normal individuals, this polymorphism affects the anatomy of the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex, identifying a genetic mechanism ...

There is growing interest in identifying specific genetic influences that may moderate the impact of environmental stressors (E) on depression risk. The majority of studies have focused on 5-HTTLPR, though findings have been mixed (Karg et al., 2011), suggesting the presence of unmeasured moderating influences. There is evidence that 5-HTTLPR E effects on depression may be stronger among indivi...

Rooted in people's preoccupation with how they are perceived and evaluated, shame and guilt are self-conscious emotions that play adaptive roles in social behavior, but can also contribute to psychopathology when dysregulated. Shame and guilt-proneness develop during childhood and adolescence, and are influenced by genetic and environmental factors that are little known to date. This study inve...