Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) Val(66)Met polymorphism differentially predicts hippocampal function in medication-free patients with schizophrenia.

ABSTRACT: A Val(66)Met single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) gene impairs activity-dependent BDNF release in cultured hippocampal neurons and predicts impaired memory and exaggerated basal hippocampal activity in healthy humans. Several clinical genetic association studies along with multi-modal evidence for hippocampal dysfunction in schizophrenia indirectly suggest a relationship between schizophrenia and genetically determined BDNF function in the hippocampus. To directly test this hypothesized relationship, we studied 47 medication-free patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder and 74 healthy comparison individuals with genotyping for the Val(66)Met SNP and [(15)O]H(2)O positron emission tomography (PET) to measure resting and working

SUBMITTER: Eisenberg DP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3628926 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature