Human BDNF rs6265 polymorphism as a mediator for the generalization of contextual anxiety

AbstractThe Met allele of the human brain ‐derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) gene might be a risk factor for anxiety disorders and is associated with reduced hippocampal volume. Notably, hippocampus plays a crucial role in contextual learning and generalization. The role of theBDNF gene variation in human context ‐conditioning and generalization is still unknown. We investigated 33 carriers of the Met allele (18 females) and 32 homozygous carriers of the Val allele (15 females) with a virtual‐reality context‐conditioning paradigm. Electric stimulations (unconditioned stimulus, US) were unpredictably de livered in one virtual office (CTX+), but never in another virtual office (CTX‐). During generalization, participants revisited CTX+ and CTX‐ and a generalization office (G‐CTX), which was a mix of the other two. Rating data indicated successful conditioning (more negative valence, higher arou sal, anxiety and contingency ratings for CTX+ than CTX‐), and generalization of conditioned anxiety by comparable ratings for G‐CTX and CTX+. The startle data indicated discriminative learning for Met allele carriers, but not for Val homozygotes. Moreover, a trend effect suggests that startle re sponses of only the Met carriers were slightly potentiated in G‐CTX versus CTX‐. In sum, theBDNF polymorphism did not affect contextual learning and its generalization on a verbal level. However, the physiological data suggest that Met carriers are characterized by fast disc...

Source: Journal of Neuroscience Research - November 7, 2018 Category: Neuroscience Authors: Marta Andreatta, Dorothea Neueder, Hannah Genheimer, Miriam A. Schiele, Christoph Schartner, J ürgen Deckert, Katharina Domschke, Andreas Reif, Matthias J. Wieser, Paul Pauli Tags: RESEARCH ARTICLE Source Type: research