Abstract #2531

Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) Genotype is Associated with Frontal Gray & White Matter Volume Recovery in Abstinent Alcohol Dependent Individuals

Anderson Mon¹, Timothy C. Durazzo¹, Kent Hutchison², Dieter J. Meyerhoff¹

¹Department of Radiology & Biomedical Imaging, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States; ²Psychology, the MIND Institute, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, United States

In this report, we assessed the influence of BDNF, DRD2 and COMT genotype on the recovery of brain lobar tissue volumes in abstinent alcohol dependent individuals. We observed that only BDNF facilitates brain tissue recovery of the frontal lobe in short-term abstinent alcohol dependent individuals. In particular, the valine homozygous polymorphism is associated with greater tissue recovery than BDNF heterozygocity. This finding suggests that the amount of time needed by an individual to fully recover from the effects of chronic alcoholism is partly dependent on the individuals genetic composition