title: Effect of BDNF val66met polymorphism on age-related amygdala volume changes in healthy subjects.
abstract: Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) has been implicated in the mechanism of age-related regional brain volumetric changes. Healthy volunteers with the valine to methionine polymorphism at codon 66 of the BDNF gene (val66met) exhibit decreased volume of a number of brain structures, including hippocampus, temporal and occipital lobar gray matter volumes, and a negative correlation between age and the volume of bilateral dorsolateral prefrontal cortices. We sought to characterize the relationship between age, BDNF and amygdala volumes among healthy volunteers. We measured amygdala volumes in 55 healthy, right-handed volunteers who underwent structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and were also characterized demographically and genotyped with respect to BDNF. Using an ANCOVA model, we found that amygdala volumes were inversely correlated with age in BDNF val66met carriers but not in non-carriers. This is the first report of age-related BDNF val66met polymorphism effects on amygdala volume.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Imaging and Neuropathology, New York State Psychiatric Institute, Columbia University, 1051 Riverside Drive, Unit 42, New York, NY 10032, USA. es2316@columbia.edu
authors.forename: M E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Sublette
authors.forename: Enrique
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Baca-Garcia
authors.forename: Ramin V
authors.initials: RV
authors.lastname: Parsey
authors.forename: Maria A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Oquendo
authors.forename: Sarina M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Rodrigues
authors.forename: Hanga
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Galfalvy
authors.forename: Yung-Yu
authors.initials: YY
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Victoria
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Arango
authors.forename: J J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Mann
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000375:Aging; D000679:Amygdala / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D019208:Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D008715:Methionine / Q000235:genetics*; D008875:Middle Aged; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic / Q000235:genetics*; D012044:Regression Analysis; D014633:Valine / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D019208:Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor; D008715:Methionine; D014633:Valine