Genetic modulation of training and transfer in older adults:BDNF Val66Met polymorphism is associated with wider useful field of view

• Main Authors: Lorenza S Colzato, Jesse evan Muijden, Guido P H Band, Bernhard eHommel
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2011-09-01
• Series: Frontiers in Psychology
• Subjects: Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF); Useful Field of View (UFOV); videogame
• Online Access: http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fpsyg.2011.00199/full

Western society has an increasing proportion of older adults. Increasing age is associated with a general decrease in the control over task-relevant mental processes. In the present study we investigated the possibility that successful transfer of game-based cognitive improvements to untrained tasks in elderly people is modulated by preexisting neuro-developmental factors as genetic variability related to levels of the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), an important neuromodulator underlying cognitive processes. We trained participants, genotyped for the BDNF Val66Met polymorphism, on cognitive tasks developed to improve dynamic attention. Pre-training (baseline) and post-training measures of attentional processes (divided and selective attention) were acquired by means of the Useful Field of View (UFOV) task. As expected, Val/Val homozygous individuals showed larger beneficial transfer effects than Met/-carriers. Our findings support the idea that genetic predisposition modulates transfer effects.