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Updated: Jul 17, 2026

Social Isolation Model: A Noninvasive Rodent Model of Stress and Anxiety
Published on: November 11, 2022
BDNF variant linked to anxiety-related behaviors
1Division of Clinical Neuroscience, Chiba University Center for Forensic Mental Health, 1-8-1 Inohana, Chiba 260-8670, Japan. hashimoto@faculty.chiba-u.jp
Abstract:
Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is the most-abundant neurotrophin in the brain. In mammals, it is synthesized as a precursor called proBDNF, which is proteolytically cleaved to generate mature BDNF. The BDNF gene is located on chromosome 11p13, and a functional single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) of this gene has been shown to produce a valine (Val)-to-methionine (Met) substitution in the proBDNF protein at codon 66 (Val66Met). Several papers suggest that this SNP is related to decreased hippocampal volume and hippocampus-mediated memory performance in humans. Recently, Chen et al. generated a variant BDNF mouse (BDNF(Met/Met)) that reproduces the phenotypic hallmarks in humans with a variant Met allele. In the behavioral analysis, BDNF(Met/Met) mice show increased anxiety-related behaviors. This mini-review examines the impact of Met substitution of proBDNF on anxiety-related behaviors.
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