1. Association between the brain-derived neurotrophic factor Val66Met polymorphism and brain morphology in a Japanese sample of schizophrenia and healthy comparisons.
- Author
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Takahashi T, Suzuki M, Tsunoda M, Kawamura Y, Takahashi N, Tsuneki H, Kawasaki Y, Zhou SY, Kobayashi S, Sasaoka T, Seto H, Kurachi M, and Ozaki N
- Subjects
- Adult, Amino Acid Substitution genetics, Atrophy metabolism, Atrophy pathology, Atrophy physiopathology, Brain metabolism, Brain physiopathology, Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor chemistry, DNA Mutational Analysis, Female, Functional Laterality genetics, Gene Frequency genetics, Genetic Markers genetics, Genetic Testing, Genotype, Humans, Japan, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Methionine genetics, Parahippocampal Gyrus metabolism, Parahippocampal Gyrus pathology, Parahippocampal Gyrus physiopathology, Schizophrenia metabolism, Valine genetics, Brain pathology, Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor genetics, Genetic Predisposition to Disease genetics, Polymorphism, Genetic genetics, Schizophrenia genetics, Schizophrenia pathology
- Abstract
Magnetic resonance imaging was used to investigate the relation between the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) Val66Met polymorphism and volumetric measurements for the medial temporal lobe structures (amygdala, hippocampus, and parahippocampal gyrus) and prefrontal sub-regions (the superior frontal gyrus, middle frontal gyrus, inferior frontal gyrus, ventral medial prefrontal cortex, orbitofrontal cortex, and straight gyrus) in a Japanese sample of 33 schizophrenia patients and 29 healthy subjects. For the controls, the Met carriers had significantly smaller parahippocampal and left superior frontal gyri than the Val homozygotes. The schizophrenia patients carrying the Met allele had a significantly smaller right parahippocampal gyrus than those with the Val/Val genotype, but the genotype did not affect the prefrontal regions in schizophrenia patients. These findings might reflect different genotypic effects of BDNF on brain morphology in schizophrenia patients and healthy controls, implicating the possible role of the brain morphology as an endophenotype for future genetic studies in schizophrenia.
- Published
- 2008
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