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Brain‐derived neurotrophic factor Val66Met polymorphism, human memory, and synaptic neuroplasticity
Author(s) -
Lamb Yvette N.,
McKay Nicole S.,
Thompson Christopher S.,
Hamm Jeffrey P.,
Waldie Karen E.,
Kirk Ian J.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
wiley interdisciplinary reviews: cognitive science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.526
H-Index - 49
eISSN - 1939-5086
pISSN - 1939-5078
DOI - 10.1002/wcs.1334
Subject(s) - long term potentiation , neuroscience , neuroplasticity , mnemonic , synaptic plasticity , neurotrophic factors , psychology , brain derived neurotrophic factor , metaplasticity , neuronal memory allocation , biology , cognitive psychology , receptor , genetics
Some people have much better memory than others, and there is compelling evidence that a considerable proportion of this variation in memory ability is genetically inherited. A form of synaptic plasticity known as long‐term potentiation ( LTP ) is the principal candidate mechanism underlying memory formation in neural circuits, and it might be expected, therefore, that a genetic influence on the degree of LTP might in turn influence memory abilities. Of the genetic variations thought to significantly influence mnemonic ability in humans, the most likely to have its effect via LTP is a single nucleotide polymorphism affecting brain‐derived neurotrophic factor [ BDNF ( Val66Met )]. However, although it is likely that BDNF influences memory via a modulation of acute plasticity (i.e., LTP ), BDNF also has considerable influence on structural development of neural systems. Thus, the influence of BDNF ( Val66Met ) on mnemonic performance via influences of brain structure as well as function must also be considered. In this brief review, we will describe the phenomenon of LTP and its study in non‐human animals. We will discuss the relatively recent attempts to translate this work to studies in humans. We will describe how this has enabled investigation of the effect of the BDNF polymorphism on LTP , on brain structure, and on memory performance. WIREs Cogn Sci 2015, 6:97–108. doi: 10.1002/wcs.1334 This article is categorized under: Neuroscience > Cognition Neuroscience > Plasticity