Brain volumes and Val66Met polymorphism of the BDNF gene: local or global effects?

• Autores: Roberto Toro, Marie Chupin, Line Garnero, Gabriel Leonard, Michel Perron, G Bruce Pike, Alain Pitiot, Louis Richer, Suzanne Veillette, Zdenka Pausova, Tomáš Paus
• Localización: Brain Structure and Function, ISSN 1863-2653, ISSN-e 1863-2661, Vol. 213, Nº. 6, 2009, págs. 501-509
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • A common Single-Nucleotide Polymorphism in the Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) gene coding the Val66Met substitution in the pro-BDNF protein has been associated with a number of behavioural and neuroanatomical phenotypes; the latter include, for example, regional differences in volumes of the hippocampus and prefrontal grey matter. Here, we show that the observed regional differences may not stem from a localised effect of this gene. Our analysis of regional brain volume in a cohort of 331 adolescents indicates that the Val66Met substitution has a global effect on brain volume, and that the observed local differences are to be expected if brain allometry-the covariance pattern of regional brain volumes-is taken into account.;