A new study revealed that a common genetic variant in the brain-derived neurotrophic factor gene reduces the neurobiological benefits induced by physical exercise in mice.
Physical exercise has several beneficial effects on human wellbeing, including anxiolytic and antidepressant effects. However, there are individual differences in response to regular physical exercise. A new study, recently published in Neuropsychopharmacology, suggests that these individual variabilities may be accounted for by specific genetic variants.
Researchers from the University of Milan, in collaboration with the Weill Cornell Medical College, reported that physical exercise failed to promote anxiolytic- and antidepressant-like effects in mice genetically engineered to express a human genetic variation in the gene for the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF).
