The fact of significant heterogeneity in cognitive aging is explained in terms of the influences of both genetic and environmental factors. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is a neurotrophic factor involved in plasticity processes in the mature brain. The Val66Met polymorphism is a functional polymorphism of the BDNF gene which determines its associations with the cerebral architecture and functions and the efficiency of cognitive functioning. The aim of the present work was to identify aging-related features of the relationship between the Val66Met polymorphism and the efficiency of verbal memory processes as determined in a dichotic test, as well as with background oscillatory brain activity recorded with the eyes closed in 52 EEG leads. The study included 235 young (Y, mean age 21.65 years, SD = 3.18) and 141 older (O, mean age 64.37 years, SD = 6.04) right-handed Caucasians. Differences in memory indicators and EEG activity patterns associated with the BDNF Val66Met polymorphism were detected only in O individuals. During dichotic testing, O subjects with the Val/Val genotype reproduced fewer words from the right ear than carriers of the Met allele. Analysis of the EEG revealed between-genotype differences in focal indicators of asymmetry in the power of the δ, θ, β1, and β2 rhythms, with greater power of rhythms in the central temporal areas of the right hemisphere than the left in the Val/Val genotype, with the opposite ratio in carriers of the Met allele. In the case of the β2 rhythm, similar differences in asymmetry were also characteristic of the parietal-occipital areas of the hemispheres. Indicators of central temporal asymmetry were found to be mediators of the association between the BDNF gene polymorphism and the efficiency of memory. These findings provide the first evidence of age-related differences in the effects of the BDNF Val66Met polymorphism on verbal memory performance and EEG power, and also indicate possible relationships between these genotype-associated parameters.
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Volf, N.V., Privodnova, E.Y. Background EEG Activity Mediates the Association between the BDNF Val66Met Polymorphism and Memory during Aging. Neurosci Behav Physi 53, 1469–1477 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11055-023-01540-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11055-023-01540-3