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Although gene–environment interactions are being examined in the etiologies of anxiety and depression, researchers have rarely explored their explicit neurobiological pathways. In 374 healthy white volunteers, these investigators examined polymorphisms in the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) gene, early life stress (ELS), brain volumes (in 89 subjects), autonomic reactivity (e.g., heart rate), personality, and anxiety and depressive symptoms. The researchers used structural equation modeling to link BDNF-ELS interactions with the other study factors.
Among participants with high ELS, carriers of the Met allele had lower hippocampal and lateral prefrontal gray matter than subjects with the Val/Val genotype, which led to higher depress…