Association between hippocampal structure and serum Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) in healthy adults: A registered report

Abstract

The hippocampus is a highly plastic brain structure supporting functions central to human cognition. Morphological changes in the hippocampus have been implicated in development, aging, as well as in a broad range of neurological and psychiatric disorders. A growing body of research suggests that hippocampal plasticity is closely linked to the actions of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). However, evidence on the relationship between hippocampal volume (HCV) and peripheral BDNF levels is scarce and limited to elderly and patient populations. Further, despite evidence that BDNF expression differs throughout the hippocampus and is implicated in adult neurogenesis specifically in the dentate gyrus, no study has so far related peripheral BDNF levels to the volumes of individual hippocampal subfields. Besides its clinical implications, BDNF-facilitated hippocampal plasticity plays an important role in regulating cognitive and affective processes. In the current registered report, we investigated how serum BDNF (sBDNF) levels relate to volumes of the hippocampal formation and its subfields in a large sample of healthy adults (N = 279, 160 f) with a broad age range (20–55 years, mean 40.5) recruited in the context of the ReSource Project. We related HCV to basal sBDNF and, in a subsample (n = 103, 57 f), to acute stress-reactive change in sBDNF. We further tested the role of age as a moderator of both associations. Contrary to our hypotheses, neither basal sBDNF levels nor stress-reactive sBDNF change were associated with total HCV or volume of the dentate gyrus/cornu ammonis 4 (DG/CA4) subfield. We also found no evidence for a moderating effect of age on any of these associations. Our null results provide a first point of reference on the relationship between sBDNF and HCV in healthy mid-age, in contrast to patient or aging populations. We suggest that sBDNF levels have limited predictive value for morphological differences of the hippocampal structure when notable challenge to its neuronal integrity or to neurotrophic capacity is absent.

Hippocampal Volume and Plasma Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor Levels in Patients With Depression and Healthy Controls

“…In addition, since BDNF crosses the blood-brain barrier (Pan et al, 1998), BDNF in the brain and periphery may affect hippocampal volume. For example, a recent study examining the relationship between hippocampal volume and serum BDNF concentrations in healthy controls found no relationship between the hippocampal volumes and serum BDNF concentrations (Puhlmann et al, 2021). From these findings into account, we hypothesized that hippocampal volume would be decreased in patients with MD as compared with healthy controls, and that BDNF concentrations would be positively correlated with hippocampal volumes.…”

Revisiting the stress recovery hypothesis: Differential associations of cortisol stress reactivity and recovery after acute psychosocial stress with markers of long-term stress and health

“…Further 24 subjects were excluded due to missing data in one or more of the predictor variables (for details see 3.1), resulting in a final sample of 106 participants. Although the data reported here were previously published in the context of other research questions ( Engert et al, 2016 , 2017 , 2018 ; Puhlmann et al, 2019 , 2021a , 2021b ), none of these studies linked measures of acute stress responsivity to measures of long-term stress and health. The current study is an a-posteriori exploratory study not planned during the designing of the ReSource Project .…”

Chitosan Hydrogel Supplemented with Metformin Promotes Neuron–like Cell Differentiation of Gingival Mesenchymal Stem Cells

“…VEGF is another important protein growth factor, as it can directly regulate the ion channels on the cell membrane of neurons, regulate the development and regeneration of neurons, and exert neuroprotective effects [ 34 ]. Brain–derived neurotrophic factors are mainly active in the hippocampus and cerebral cortex, and they play a neuroprotective effect by binding to receptors and promoting the proliferation, differentiation, and migration of NSCs [ 35 ]. In the work of Miller’s research team, it was found that metformin can stimulate the aPKC–CBP signaling pathway and promote the regeneration and development of neurons in the mouse brain [ 21 ].…”