The Val66Met brain-derived neurotrophic factor gene variant interacts with early pain exposure to predict cortisol dysregulation in 7-year-old children born very preterm: Implications for cognition.

ABSTRACT: Early stress in the form of repetitive neonatal pain, in infants born very preterm, is associated with long-term dysregulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and with poorer cognitive performance. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) which is important in synaptic plasticity and cognitive functions is reduced by stress. Therefore the BDNF Val66Met variant, which affects secretion of BDNF, may interact with early exposure to pain-related stress in children born very preterm, to differentially affect HPA regulation that in turn may be associated with altered cognitive performance. The aims of this study were to investigate whether in children born very preterm, the BDNF Val66Met variant modulates the association between neonatal pain-related stress and cortisol levels a

SUBMITTER: Chau CM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4769966 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature