ArticleThe international journal of neuropsychopharmacology2020
Human Plasma BDNF Is Associated With Amygdala-Prefrontal Cortex Functional Connectivity and Problem Drinking Behaviors.
Article in The international journal of neuropsychopharmacology, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
12 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 30 citations in OpenAlex.
- Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) levels in panic disorder: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Brain and behavior · 2024Pooled it
- Effect of alcohol on Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) blood levels: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Scientific reports · 2023Pooled it
- Impact of Short-term Rehabilitation on Chronic Stress-induced Brain Alterations and Associated Cognitive Deficits.Annals of neurosciences · 2026Article
- Maternal separation increases anxiety-like phenotypes, fear responses, and altersNeurobiology of stress · 2026Article
- Emerging role of N6-methyladenosine (m6A) epitranscriptomic changes in adult anxiety after adolescent alcohol exposure.Neuropharmacology · 2026Article
- The 'hand-brain-emotion' axis: a theoretical model for handicraft art-based intervention in anxiety disorders through neuroplasticity and autonomic regulation.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Review
- Microglia Promote Neurodegeneration and Hyperkatifeia during Withdrawal and Abstinence from Binge Alcohol.The American journal of pathology · 2026Article
- Microglia promote neurodegeneration and hyperkatifeia during withdrawal and prolonged abstinence from binge alcohol.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- Activation of BDNF-TrkB Signaling in Specific Structures of the Sheep Brain by Kynurenic Acid.Cells · 2024Article
- Alterations in Neurotrophins in Alcohol-Addicted Patients during Alcohol Withdrawal.Brain sciences · 2024Review
- Aerobic exercise as a promising nonpharmacological therapy for the treatment of substance use disorders.Journal of neuroscience research · 2022Review
- Functional Domains of Substance Use and their Implications to Trauma: A Systematic Review of Neuroimaging Studies.Chronic stress (Thousand Oaks, Calif.)Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundPreclinical studies suggest that decreased levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor in the amygdala play a role in anxiety and alcohol use disorder. The association between brain-derived neurotrophic factor levels and amygdala function in humans with alcohol use disorder is still unclear, although neuroimaging studies have also implicated the amygdala in alcohol use disorder and suggest that alcohol use disorder is associated with disrupted functional connectivity between the amygdala and prefrontal cortex during aversive states.
methodsThe current study investigated whether plasma brain-derived neurotrophic factor levels in individuals with and without alcohol use disorder (n = 57) were associated with individual differences in amygdala reactivity and amygdala-prefrontal cortex functional connectivity during 2 forms of aversive responding captured via functional magnetic resonance imaging: anxiety elicited by unpredictable threat of shock and fear elicited by predictable threat of shock. We also examined whether brain-derived neurotrophic factor and brain function were associated with binge drinking episodes and alcohol use disorder age of onset.
resultsDuring anxiety, but not fear, lower levels of plasma brain-derived neurotrophic factor were associated with less connectivity between the left amygdala and the medial prefrontal cortex and the inferior frontal gyrus. In addition, within individuals with alcohol use disorder (only), lower levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor and amygdala-medial prefrontal cortex functional connectivity during anxiety were associated with more binge episodes within the past 60 days and a lower age of alcohol use disorder onset. There were no associations between brain-derived neurotrophic factor levels and focal amygdala task reactivity.
conclusionsTogether, the results indicate that plasma brain-derived neurotrophic factor levels are related to amygdala circuit functioning in humans, particularly during anxiety, and these individual differences may relate to drinking behaviors.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.