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. 2015 May;206(5):379-84.
doi: 10.1192/bjp.bp.113.143529. Epub 2015 Mar 5.

Modulatory effects of brain-derived neurotrophic factor Val66Met polymorphism on prefrontal regions in major depressive disorder

Rebecca MacGregor Legge  1 , Shahbaz Sendi  1 , James H Cole  1 , Sarah Cohen-Woods  1 , Sergi G Costafreda  1 , Andrew Simmons  1 , Anne E Farmer  1 , Katherine J Aitchison  1 , Peter McGuffin  1 , Cynthia H Y Fu  1
Affiliations

Modulatory effects of brain-derived neurotrophic factor Val66Met polymorphism on prefrontal regions in major depressive disorder

Rebecca MacGregor Legge et al. Br J Psychiatry. 2015 May.

Abstract

Background: Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) Val66Met polymorphism contributes to the development of depression (major depressive disorder, MDD), but it is unclear whether neural effects observed in healthy individuals are sustained in MDD.

Aims: To investigate BDNF Val66Met effects on key regions in MDD neurocircuitry: amygdala, anterior cingulate, middle frontal and orbitofrontal regions.

Method: Magnetic resonance imaging scans were acquired in 79 persons with MDD (mean age 49 years) and 74 healthy volunteers (mean age 50 years). Effects on surface area and cortical thickness were examined with multiple comparison correction.

Results: People who were Met allele carriers showed reduced caudal middle frontal thickness in both study groups. Significant interaction effects were found in the anterior cingulate and rostral middle frontal regions, in which participants in the MDD group who were Met carriers showed the greatest reduction in surface area.

Conclusions: Modulatory effects of the BDNF Val66Met polymorphism on distinct subregions in the prefrontal cortex in MDD support the neurotrophin model of depression.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of interest

None.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1
A significant main effect of BDNF Val66Met polymorphism which survived correction for multiple comparisons was found in the left caudal middle frontal region (Brodmann’s area 6). Participants who carried the Met allele showed the greatest reduction in cortical thickness in both the major depressive disorder (MDD) and control groups. Boxplots indicate interquartile range, median and range.
Fig 2
Fig 2
The significant interaction effect in the right caudal anterior cingulate. Participants with major depressive disorder (MDD) who carried the Met allele showed the greatest reduction in surface area compared with those homozygous for Val in both the MDD and control groups as well as with those who were Met carriers in the control group. Boxplots indicate interquartile range, median and range.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Comment in

  • Ethnic differences in BDNF Val66Met polymorphism.
    Yeebo MF. Yeebo MF. Br J Psychiatry. 2015 Oct;207(4):363. doi: 10.1192/bjp.207.4.363. Br J Psychiatry. 2015. PMID: 26429688 No abstract available.
  • Authors' reply.
    Fu CH, Legge RM, Cohen-Woods S, Cole JH, Aitchison KJ, McGuffin P. Fu CH, et al. Br J Psychiatry. 2015 Oct;207(4):363-4. doi: 10.1192/bjp.207.4.363a. Br J Psychiatry. 2015. PMID: 26429689 No abstract available.

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