BDNF val66met polymorphism affects aging of multiple types of memory

Abstract The BDNF val66met polymorphism (rs6265) influences activity-dependent secretion of brain-derived neurotrophic factor in the synapse, which is crucial for learning and memory. Individuals homozygous or heterozygous for the met allele have lower BDNF secretion than val homozygotes and may be...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Brain research 2015-07, Vol.1612, p.104-117
Main Authors: Kennedy, Kristen M, Reese, Elizabeth D, Horn, Marci M, Sizemore, April N, Unni, Asha K, Meerbrey, Michael E, Kalich, Allan G, Rodrigue, Karen M
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Age Factors
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Aging
Aging - physiology
Associative memory
BDNF val66met polymorphism
Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor - genetics
Cross-Sectional Studies
Episodic memory
Female
Humans
Male
Memory - classification
Memory - physiology
Mental Status Schedule
Methionine - genetics
Middle Aged
Neurology
Neuropsychological Tests
Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide - genetics
Prospective memory
Subjective memory
Valine - genetics
Young Adult
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Summary:Abstract The BDNF val66met polymorphism (rs6265) influences activity-dependent secretion of brain-derived neurotrophic factor in the synapse, which is crucial for learning and memory. Individuals homozygous or heterozygous for the met allele have lower BDNF secretion than val homozygotes and may be at risk for reduced declarative memory performance, but it remains unclear which types of declarative memory may be affected and how aging of memory across the lifespan is impacted by the BDNF val66met polymorphism. This cross-sectional study investigated the effects of BDNF polymorphism on multiple indices of memory (item, associative, prospective, subjective complaints) in a lifespan sample of 116 healthy adults aged 20–93 years. Advancing age showed a negative effect on item, associative and prospective memory, but not on subjective memory complaints. For item and prospective memory, there were significant age× BDNF group interactions, indicating the adverse effect of age on memory performance across the lifespan was much stronger in the BDNF met carriers than for the val homozygotes. BDNF met carriers also endorsed significantly greater subjective memory complaints, regardless of age, and showed a trend ( p
ISSN:0006-8993
1872-6240
DOI:10.1016/j.brainres.2014.09.044