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The effect of BDNF val66met polymorphism on visuomotor adaptation

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Abstract

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) plays an important role in learning, memory, and brain plasticity. Humans with a val66met polymorphism in the BDNF gene have reduced levels of BDNF and alterations in motor learning and short-term cortical plasticity. In the current study, we sought to further explore the role of BDNF in motor learning by testing human subjects on a visuomotor adaptation task. In experiment 1, 21 subjects with the polymorphism (val/met) and 21 matched controls (val/val) were tested during learning, short-term retention (45 min), long-term retention (24 h), and de-adaptation of a 60° visuomotor deviation. We measured both mean error as well as rate of adaptation during each session. There was no difference in mean error between groups; however, val/met subjects had a reduced rate of adaptation during learning as well as during long-term retention, but not short-term retention or de-adaptation. In experiment 2, 12 val/met and 12 val/val subjects were tested on a larger 80° deviation, revealing a more pronounced difference in mean error during adaptation than the 60° deviation. These results suggest that BDNF may play an important role in visuomotor adaptive processes in the human.

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Acknowledgments

V.L-A, AL, and PG-G were financed by the Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (DEP2011-22466), (Ministry of Science and Innovation), Spain. PG-G and PM were supported by grants from the Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación de España (Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation) (SAF2007-60700); Instituto de Salud Carlos III (PI10/01674); the Consejería de Innovación, Ciencia y Empresa de la Junta de Andalucía (Department of Innovation, Science and Business of Andalusia) (CVI-02526, CTS-7685); the Consejería de Salud de la Junta de Andalucía (Department of Health of Andalusia) (PI-0377/2007, PI-0741/2010), the Sociedad Andaluza de Neurología and the Jaques and Gloria Gossweiler Foundation. PG-G was also supported by the ‘Miguel Servet’ program from the Instituto de Salud Carlos III. RAJ, JB, NJ, and PB were supported by the Medical Research Council UK, PDUK, and the NIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Centre.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford, Level 6, West Wing, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, OX3 9DU, UK

    Raed A. Joundi, John-Stuart Brittain, Ned Jenkinson, Binith Cheeran & Peter Brown

  2. Learning and Human Movement Control Group, INEF Galicia, University of A Coruña, A Coruña, Spain

    Virginia Lopez-Alonso, Angel Lago & Miguel Fernandez-del-Olmo

  3. Department of Engineering Science, Institute of Biomedical Engineering, Centre of Excellence in Personalised Healthcare, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK

    John-Stuart Brittain

  4. Unidad de Trastornos del Movimiento, Servicio de Neurología y Neurofisiolgía Clínica, Instituto de Biomedicina de Sevilla, Hospital Universitario Virgen del Rocío/CSIC/Universidad de Sevilla, Seville, Spain

    Pilar Gomez-Garre & Pablo Mir

  5. Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red sobre Enfermedades Neurodegenerativas (CIBERNED), Seville, Spain

    Pablo Mir

Authors
  1. Raed A. Joundi
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  2. Virginia Lopez-Alonso
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  3. Angel Lago
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  4. John-Stuart Brittain
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  5. Miguel Fernandez-del-Olmo
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  6. Pilar Gomez-Garre
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  7. Pablo Mir
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  8. Ned Jenkinson
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  9. Binith Cheeran
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  10. Peter Brown
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Correspondence to Peter Brown.

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Joundi, R.A., Lopez-Alonso, V., Lago, A. et al. The effect of BDNF val66met polymorphism on visuomotor adaptation. Exp Brain Res 223, 43–50 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-012-3239-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-012-3239-9

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