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Brain volumes and Val66Met polymorphism of the BDNF gene: local or global effects?

  • Human Brain: Structure, Function & Behavior
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An Erratum to this article was published on 30 October 2009

Abstract

A common Single-Nucleotide Polymorphism in the Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) gene coding the Val66Met substitution in the pro-BDNF protein has been associated with a number of behavioural and neuroanatomical phenotypes; the latter include, for example, regional differences in volumes of the hippocampus and prefrontal grey matter. Here, we show that the observed regional differences may not stem from a localised effect of this gene. Our analysis of regional brain volume in a cohort of 331 adolescents indicates that the Val66Met substitution has a global effect on brain volume, and that the observed local differences are to be expected if brain allometry—the covariance pattern of regional brain volumes—is taken into account.

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Acknowledgments

The Saguenay Youth Study project is funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Heart and Stroke Foundation of Quebec, and the Canadian Foundation for Innovation. We thank Pierre-Yves Hervé and Jamila Andoh for their comments on the manuscript, and the following individuals for their contribution in designing the protocol, acquiring and analysing the data: MR team (Dr. Michel Bérubé, Sylvie Masson, Suzanne Castonguay, Julien Grandisson, Marie-Josée Morin) and the ÉCOBES team (Nadine Arbour, Marie-Ève Bouchard, Annie Houde, Dr. Luc Laberge). We thank Dr. Jean Mathieu for the medical follow-up of subjects in whom we detected any medically relevant abnormalities.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Brain and Body Centre, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK

    Roberto Toro, Alain Pitiot, Zdenka Pausova & Tomáš Paus

  2. Human Genetics and Cognitive Functions, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France

    Roberto Toro

  3. Cognitive Neuroscience and Brain Imaging Lab, CNRS UPR640, UPMC, Paris, France

    Marie Chupin & Line Garnero

  4. Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada

    Gabriel Leonard, Bruce Pike & Tomáš Paus

  5. CEGEP Jonquiere, Jonquiere, QC, Canada

    Michel Perron & Suzanne Veillette

  6. University of Quebec in Chicoutimi, Chicoutimi, QC, Canada

    Louis Richer

  7. University of Montreal, Montreal, QC, Canada

    Michel Perron, Suzanne Veillette & Zdenka Pausova

Authors
  1. Roberto Toro
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  2. Marie Chupin
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  3. Line Garnero
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  4. Gabriel Leonard
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  5. Michel Perron
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  6. Bruce Pike
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  7. Alain Pitiot
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  8. Louis Richer
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  9. Suzanne Veillette
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  10. Zdenka Pausova
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  11. Tomáš Paus
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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Roberto Toro or Tomáš Paus.

Additional information

An erratum to this article can be found at http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00429-009-0224-6

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Toro, R., Chupin, M., Garnero, L. et al. Brain volumes and Val66Met polymorphism of the BDNF gene: local or global effects?. Brain Struct Funct 213, 501–509 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00429-009-0203-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00429-009-0203-y

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