2016 Articles

Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor Moderates Associations Between Maternal Smoking During Pregnancy And Offspring Behavioral Disorders

Talati, Ardesheer; Odgerel, Zagaa; Wickramaratne, Priya J.; Weissman, Myrna M.

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.