Publication Type	Academic Article
Authors	Soliman F, Glatt C, Bath K, Levita L, Jones R, Pattwell S, Jing D, Tottenham N, Amso D, Somerville L, Voss H, Glover G, Ballon D, Liston C, Teslovich T, Van Kempen T, Lee F, Casey B
Journal	Science
Volume	327
Issue	5967
Pagination	863-6
Date Published	01/14/2010
ISSN	1095-9203
Keywords	Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor, Conditioning, Classical, Extinction, Psychological, Fear, Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide
Abstract	Mouse models are useful for studying genes involved in behavior, but whether they are relevant to human behavior is unclear. Here, we identified parallel phenotypes in mice and humans resulting from a common single-nucleotide polymorphism in the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) gene, which is involved in anxiety-related behavior. An inbred genetic knock-in mouse strain expressing the variant BDNF recapitulated the phenotypic effects of the human polymorphism. Both were impaired in extinguishing a conditioned fear response, which was paralleled by atypical frontoamygdala activity in humans. Thus, this variant BDNF allele may play a role in anxiety disorders showing impaired learning of cues that signal safety versus threat and in the efficacy of treatments that rely on extinction mechanisms, such as exposure therapy.
DOI	10.1126/science.1181886
PubMed ID	20075215
PubMed Central ID	PMC2829261