The brain-derived neurotrophic factor val66met polymorphism and variation in human cortical morphology

Lukas Pezawas, Beth A. Verchinski, Venkata S. Mattay, Joseph H. Callicott, Bhaskar S. Kolachana, Richard E. Straub, Michael F. Egan, Andreas Meyer-Lindenberg, Daniel R. Weinberger

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

708 Scopus citations

Abstract

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 of variation in brain morphology related to learning and memory.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)10099-10102
Number of pages4
JournalJournal of Neuroscience
Volume24
Issue number45
DOIs
StatePublished - Nov 10 2004
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Alzheimer
  • BDNF
  • Down syndrome
  • Gene
  • Huntington
  • Imaging genomics
  • Memory
  • Morphometry
  • Neurotrophic
  • Schizophrenia
  • VBM
  • Voxel-based

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Neuroscience

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