TY - JOUR
T1 - Effects of the BDNF val 66 met polymorphism on white matter microstructure in healthy adults
AU - Tost, Heike
AU - Alam, Tajvar
AU - Geramita, Matthew
AU - Rebsch, Christine
AU - Kolachana, Bhaskar
AU - Dickinson, Dwight
AU - Verchinski, Beth A.
AU - Lemaitre, Herve
AU - Barnett, Alan S.
AU - Trampush, Joey W.
AU - Weinberger, Daniel R.
AU - Marenco, Stefano
N1 - Funding Information:
This research was supported by the Intramural Research Program of the National Institute of Mental Health, NIH, funding of the Weinberger Lab and a DFG-NIH (To539/1) grant to HT. This study used the high-performance computational capabilities of the Biowulf Linux cluster at the NIH.
PY - 2013/2
Y1 - 2013/2
N2 - The BDNF Val 66 Met polymorphism, a possible risk variant for mental disorders, is a potent modulator of neural plasticity in humans and has been linked to deficits in gray matter structure, function, and cognition. The impact of the variant on brain white matter structure, however, is controversial and remains poorly understood. Here, we used diffusion tensor imaging to examine the effects of BDNF Val 66 Met genotype on white matter microstructure in a sample of 85 healthy Caucasian adults. We demonstrate decreases of fractional anisotropy and widespread increases in radial diffusivity in Val/Val homozygotes compared with Met-allele carriers, particularly in prefrontal and occipital pathways. These data provide an independent confirmation of prior imaging genetics work, are consistent with complex effects of the BDNF Val 66 Met polymorphism on human brain structure, and may serve to generate hypotheses about variation in white matter microstructure in mental disorders associated with this variant.
AB - The BDNF Val 66 Met polymorphism, a possible risk variant for mental disorders, is a potent modulator of neural plasticity in humans and has been linked to deficits in gray matter structure, function, and cognition. The impact of the variant on brain white matter structure, however, is controversial and remains poorly understood. Here, we used diffusion tensor imaging to examine the effects of BDNF Val 66 Met genotype on white matter microstructure in a sample of 85 healthy Caucasian adults. We demonstrate decreases of fractional anisotropy and widespread increases in radial diffusivity in Val/Val homozygotes compared with Met-allele carriers, particularly in prefrontal and occipital pathways. These data provide an independent confirmation of prior imaging genetics work, are consistent with complex effects of the BDNF Val 66 Met polymorphism on human brain structure, and may serve to generate hypotheses about variation in white matter microstructure in mental disorders associated with this variant.
KW - Brain-derived neurotrophic factor
KW - diffusion tensor imaging
KW - myelin
KW - radial diffusivity
KW - working memory
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84872488798&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84872488798&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1038/npp.2012.214
DO - 10.1038/npp.2012.214
M3 - Article
C2 - 23132269
AN - SCOPUS:84872488798
SN - 0893-133X
VL - 38
SP - 525
EP - 532
JO - Neuropsychopharmacology
JF - Neuropsychopharmacology
IS - 3
ER -