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Published on: August 25, 2014
Brain derived neurotrophic factor moderates associations between maternal smoking during pregnancy and offspring
Ardesheer Talati1, Zagaa Odgerel2, Priya J Wickramaratne3
1Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY, USA; Division of Epidemiology, New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, USA; Sackler Institute for Developmental Psychobiology, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.
Abstract:
Maternal smoking during pregnancy is associated with a number of adverse offspring outcomes. In the present study, based on 209 offspring from a 3-generation family study of depression, we show that the effects of prenatal exposure on offspring externalizing psychopathology (conduct, substance use disorder) is more pronounced in the presence of lower-expressing brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) gene variants. BDNF plays an important role in the development and survival of neural circuits. Individuals with low-expressing variants who are further exposed to prenatal tobacco smoke may be most vulnerable to a spectrum of behavioral disorders that depend on these circuits.
