School of Biosciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, CF10 3AX, UK.
School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Cardiff, CF10 3AT, UK.
J Psychiatr Res. 2022 Jun;150:47-53. doi: 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2022.03.009. Epub 2022 Mar 12.
Altered serum levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) are consistently linked with neurological disorders. BDNF is also increasingly implicated in the pathogenesis of neurodevelopmental disorders, particularly those found more frequently in males. At birth, male infants naturally have significantly lower serum BDNF levels (∼10-20% lower than females), which may render them more vulnerable to neurodevelopmental disorders. We previously characterized serum BDNF levels in mothers and their newborn infants as part of the Grown in Wales Study. Here, we analyzed whether cord serum BDNF levels at birth correlate with sex-specific outcomes at one year. The Bayley Scale of Infant Development, Third Edition (BSID-III) and Laboratory Temperament Assessment Battery (Lab-TAB) tasks were used to assess infant behavior and neurodevelopment at 12-14 months (mean ± SD: 13.3 ± 1.6 months; 46% male; n = 56). We found no relationship between serum BDNF levels at birth and BSID-III neurodevelopmental outcomes (cognitive or language), nor with infant behaviors in the Lab-TAB unpredictable mechanical toy or maternal separation tasks. In the sustained attention task, there was a significant positive relationship between serum BDNF and infant negative affect (B = 0.06, p = 0.018) and, for boys only, between serum BDNF and intensity of facial interest (B = 0.03, p = 0.005). However, only the latter remained after correction for multiple testing. This sex-specific association between cord serum BDNF and a parameter of attention at 12-14 months provides some support for the hypothesis that reduced serum BDNF levels at birth are linked to an increased risk for neurodevelopmental disorders.
血清脑源性神经营养因子（BDNF）水平的改变与神经紊乱密切相关。BDNF 也越来越多地与神经发育障碍的发病机制有关，特别是那些在男性中更为常见的疾病。在出生时，男性婴儿的血清 BDNF 水平明显较低（比女性低约 10-20%），这可能使他们更容易受到神经发育障碍的影响。我们之前在威尔士成长研究中对母亲及其新生儿的血清 BDNF 水平进行了描述。在这里，我们分析了出生时脐带血清 BDNF 水平是否与 1 岁时的性别特异性结果相关。采用贝利婴幼儿发展量表第三版（BSID-III）和实验室气质评估电池（Lab-TAB）任务来评估婴儿 12-14 个月时的行为和神经发育情况（平均 ± 标准差：13.3 ± 1.6 个月；46%为男性；n = 56）。我们没有发现出生时血清 BDNF 水平与 BSID-III 神经发育结果（认知或语言）之间的关系，也没有发现与 Lab-TAB 不可预测的机械玩具或母婴分离任务中婴儿行为之间的关系。在持续注意力任务中，血清 BDNF 与婴儿的负性情绪呈显著正相关（B = 0.06，p = 0.018），仅对于男孩，血清 BDNF 与面部兴趣强度呈显著正相关（B = 0.03，p = 0.005）。然而，在进行多次测试校正后，只有后者仍然存在。这种在 12-14 个月时脐带血清 BDNF 与注意力参数之间的性别特异性关联为出生时血清 BDNF 水平降低与神经发育障碍风险增加之间的假设提供了一些支持。
