BDNF gene polymorphisms and haplotypes in relation to cognitive performance in Polish healthy subjects

The brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is a neurotrophin that plays an important role in the cell survival, axonal and dendritic growth, and synaptic plasticity. BDNF gene polymorphisms, 'functional Val66Met mainly, were shown to influence human brain structure and cognition. The aim of the study was to assess the relationship between twelve BDNF gene variants and their haplotypes and cognitive performance measured using the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST), the Trail Making Test (TMT), the Stroop Test which are to a large extent connected with prefrontal cortex activity. Our sample consisted of 460 healthy participants from Polish population. We detected possible association between five BDNF polymorphisms (rs11030101, rs10835210, rs2049046, rs2030324, rs2883187) and TMT_A. Additionally, one haplotype block made from eleven BDNF variants (rs2883187, rs1401635, rs2049046, rs2030324, rs11030101, rs10835210, rs1013402, rs1401635, rs1013402), as significant linkage disequilibrium appeared. We discovered possible relationships of CACCGCGTACG and CACCGCGTACG haplotypes with TMT_A and TMT_B performance respectively. Our results confirmed the involvement of BDNF in the regulation of psychomotor speed, working memory and executive function in healthy subjects measured by a task engaging visuoperceptual abilities.