Create a 4 page essay paper that discusses Impact of BDNF gene and its variation val/val &val/met polymorphism on level of hippocampus,amygdala,cingulate in healthy contro.Download file to see previou

Create a 4 page essay paper that discusses Impact of BDNF gene and its variation val/val &val/met polymorphism on level of hippocampus,amygdala,cingulate in healthy contro.

Research has shown that the key mediator for synaptic plasticity and other pathologic features in bipolar disease like dendritic arborization and neuronal connectivity is the brain derived neurotrophic factor or BDNF (Kapczinski, p.1101). Assessment of genetic mechanisms of bipolar disease, especially the val66val alllele and the val66met allele and various other single nucleotide polymorphisms of BDNF which are potential vulnerable factors, can facilitate and fuel studies pertaining to various early interventions for bipolar disease, thus helping reduce prolonged delay between identification of the symptoms and initiation of treatment. Such a research also helps in the prediction of the response of the individual to a particular treatment (Post, p.979). Both BDNF and its receptor, TrkB are expressed broadly in both developing and also adult brain of the mammals, including humans. Infact, it is a well known fact that binding of BDNF to TrkB is critical for several intracellular signaling pathways like phospholipase Cg (PLCg), mitogen-activated protein kinase/extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase (MAPK/ERK) and phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) pathways and throgh these pathways BDNF exerts several biological effects on the neurons (Numakawa, p.237). Regulation of mood, cognition and behaviour is mainly regulated by the networks involving the limbic system, striatum, pallidum, thalamus and cortex. Specific abnormalities related to mood disorders have been described in amygdala, hippocampus, cingulate gyrus and prefrontal cortices (Matsuo et al, p.1904). BDNF is a genomic structure that is highly complex and contains "multiple 5'-noncoding exons that are spliced to a common 3'-coding exon that encodes for the BDNF protein" (Kapczinski, p.1101) A set of complex genomic promoters control the production of BDNF accurately. There is whopping evidence to show that chromatin remodeling of BDNF gene leads to various effects of stress that are deleterious, along with a response that is antidepressant (Kapczinski, p.1101). BDNF is expressed in high quantities in the cortex, limbic structures, hippocampus, olfactory bulb and cerebellum. In these regions, the genomic structure is involved in certain basic neuronal functions like axonal outgrowth, cell survival, synaptic plasticity and dendritic growth (Matsuo et al, p.1904). There is mixed evidence about the link between polymorphic markers in BDNF gene and bipolar disorder. While two large studies by Neves-Pereira et al, 2002 and Sklar et al, 2002 have demonstrated strong association between the two, several others studies have not been able to replicate the results in their samples. Some research has also pointed to the role of this gene in childhood-onset mood disorders (Muller et al, p.317). Several animal studies have suggested association between BDNF and treatments for mood disorders like valproate, lithium, electroconvulsive therapy and magnetic stimulation which interfere with the messenger RNA of the BDNF in the frontal lobe or in the hippocampus (Matsuo et al, p.1905). According to a study by Lang et al (2007. cited in Matsuo et al, p.