The effect of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) Val66Met gene polymorphism on cognitive performance of aging brain in response to an 8-week of exergames training

The literature has reported on the advantages of exergames in enhancing cognitive functioning. Nonetheless, genetic variations may contribute to the discrepancies of individual responses. A single nucleotide polymorphism in the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) gene is a plausible factor for the changes in cognitive performance of the aging brain. Therefore, the objective of this study was to examine the effect of BDNF Val66Met gene polymorphism on the cognitive performance of the aging brain in response to an 8-week of exergames training. 42 older adults who comprised of Val/Val, Val/Met, and Met/Met genotypes, were randomly divided into two exercise groups (exergames and conventional) with one control group. The exercise groups participated in exercise training for an 8-week period. Blood samples were collected for measuring BDNF serum level and expression, meanwhile the neuropsychological tests were assessed by the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), Trail Making Test B (TMT B), Digit Symbol Substitution Test (DSST) prior to and after the intervention. The result showed that the neuropsychological test scores had significant differences between the groups. With respect to BDNF genotype, the cognitive performance was better in the Val/Val genotypes on MoCA scores. In addition, the Met allele was associated with an improvement in neuropsychological test scores in response to both types of exercise groups. Although the intervention did not produce overall improvements, there were interesting trends in the data for the Val/Val genotype after exergames training. This demonstrates that exergames training appears to be an appealing and promising means of concurrent physical-cognitive training in the aging population.