title: Association of polymorphisms in BDNF, MTHFR, and genes involved in the dopaminergic pathway with memory in a healthy Chinese population.
abstract: The contribution of genetic factors to the memory is widely acknowledged. Research suggests that these factors include genes involved in the dopaminergic pathway, as well as the genes for brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR). The activity of the products of these genes is affected by single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within the genes. This study investigates the association between memory and SNPs in genes involved in the dopaminergic pathway, as well as in the BDNF and MTHFR genes, in a sample of healthy individuals. The sample includes 134 Taiwanese undergraduate volunteers of similar cognitive ability. The Chinese versions of the Wechsler Memory Scale (WMS-III) and Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS-III) were employed. Our findings indicate that the BDNF Met66Val polymorphism and dopamine receptor D3 (DRD3) Ser9Gly polymorphism are associated significantly with long-term auditory memory. Further analysis detects no significant associations in the other polymorphisms and indices. Future replicated studies with larger sample sizes, and studies that consider different ethnic groups, are encouraged.
authors.affiliation: Science Education Center and Graduate Institute of Science Education, National Taiwan Normal University, Taiwan, ROC. 895440089@ntnu.edu.tw
authors.forename: Ting-Kuang
authors.initials: TK
authors.lastname: Yeh
authors.forename: Chung-Yi
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.forename: Ting-Chi
authors.initials: TC
authors.lastname: Yeh
authors.forename: Pei-Jung
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Chung-Hsin
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Po-Lei
authors.initials: PL
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Chun-Yen
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Chang
mesh_terms: D000161:Acoustic Stimulation; D000293:Adolescent; D044466:Asian People / Q000235:genetics*; D019208:Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor / Q000235:genetics*; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D005787:Gene Frequency; D056726:Genetic Association Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory / Q000502:physiology*; D042965:Methylenetetrahydrofolate Reductase (NADPH2) / Q000235:genetics*; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; D050637:Receptors, Dopamine D3 / Q000235:genetics*; D013624:Taiwan; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D019208:Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor; C493593:DRD3 protein, human; D050637:Receptors, Dopamine D3; C573423:MTHFR protein, human; D042965:Methylenetetrahydrofolate Reductase (NADPH2)