Meeting Banner
Abstract #3032

The brain-derived neurotrophic factor Val66Met variant is associated with hippocampal volumes in newborn infants

Yukako Kawasaki1,2, Kenichi Oishi1, Antonette Hernandez3, Dan Wu1,4, Yoshihisa Otsuka5, Can Ceritoglu6, Thomas Ernst3,7,8, and Linda Chang3,7,8

1Department of Radiology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States, 2Division of Neonatology, Maternal and Perinatal Center, Toyama University Hospital, Toyama, Japan, 3University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI, United States, 4Key Laboratory for Biomedical Engineering of Ministry of Education, College of Biomedical Engineering & Instrument Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China, 5Department of Neurology, Kobe University, Kobe, Japan, 6Center for Imaging Science Faculty, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, United States, 7Diagnostic Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, and Neurology, University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD, United States, 8Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States

The brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) Val66Met variant (Met+) is associated with onset of neuropsychiatric disorders. Met+ individuals had smaller hippocampi than those with Met-; whether this phenotype is present at birth is unknown. To minimize postnatal environmental influences, we studied newborn Met+ and Met- infants and compared their hippocampal volumes relative to the intracranial volumes (ICV). Hippocampal volumes and ICVs were automatically parcellated. The Met+ group had significantly smaller % hippocampal volumes than the Met- group (p=0.011). The BDNF Val66Met variant is associated with smaller hippocampal volumes in newborn infants, suggesting the gene’s effects on prenatal hippocampal development.

This abstract and the presentation materials are available to members only; a login is required.

Join Here

Abstract