Interactive effect of BDNF rs10835210 polymorphism and childhood maltreatment on cognitive functioning in Chinese male patients with methamphetamine use disorder

Linjun Jiang; Dongmei Wang; Yang Tian; Jiajing Chen; Mengqian Qu; Han Chen; Ren Huang; Lianglun Jia; Fabing Fu; Shanshan Tang; Xiaotao Wang; Xiang-Yang Zhang

doi:10.1007/s00406-025-02038-4

Interactive effect of BDNF rs10835210 polymorphism and childhood maltreatment on cognitive functioning in Chinese male patients with methamphetamine use disorder

Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci. 2025 Jun 28. doi: 10.1007/s00406-025-02038-4. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Linjun Jiang^{1

2}, Dongmei Wang^{3

4}, Yang Tian^{1

2}, Jiajing Chen^{1

2}, Mengqian Qu^{1

2}, Han Chen⁵, Ren Huang⁵, Lianglun Jia⁶, Fabing Fu⁶, Shanshan Tang⁶, Xiaotao Wang⁶, Xiang-Yang Zhang^{7

8}

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Science and Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 16 Lincui Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing, 100101, China.
² Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
³ State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Science and Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 16 Lincui Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing, 100101, China. wangdm@psych.ac.cn.
⁴ Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China. wangdm@psych.ac.cn.
⁵ Mian Yang Teachers' College, Sichuan, China.
⁶ Xin Hua Drug Rehabilitation Center, Sichuan, China.
⁷ State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Science and Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 16 Lincui Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing, 100101, China. zhangxy@psych.ac.cn.
⁸ Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China. zhangxy@psych.ac.cn.

PMID: 40580351
DOI: 10.1007/s00406-025-02038-4

Abstract

Background: Patients with methamphetamine use disorder (MUD) are known to experience cognitive dysfunction. Our previous study was the first to demonstrate the negative impact of childhood maltreatment (CM) on cognitive function in MUD patients. Extensive research has highlighted the crucial role of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) gene polymorphisms in cognitive function. However, whether genetic variations in BDNF interact with environmental factors such as CM to influence cognition remains unclear. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the potential interaction between BDNF gene polymorphism and CM in affecting cognitive function among MUD patients.

Methods: We recruited 558 MUD patients and 459 healthy controls, assessed cognitive function using the Repeated Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS) and CM using the Chinese version of the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire-Short Form (CTQ-SF) in all participants, and genotyped all patients and 158 healthy controls for the BDNF rs10835210 polymorphism.

Results: CM negatively affected cognitive performance in both MUD patients and healthy controls, especially in visuospatial/constructional abilities (HC: FDR p < 0.001), attention (HC: FDR p = 0.008; MUD: FDR p < 0.001), and RBANS total score (HC: FDR p < 0.001; MUD: FDR p = 0.006). Furthermore, a significant interaction between CM and the BDNF rs10835210 polymorphism on attention (FDR p = 0.006) was observed in MUD patients, but not in healthy controls. Post hoc analyses revealed that among carriers of the BDNF rs10835210 A allele, MUD patients with CM had lower RBANS attention scores (FDR p < 0.001) than those without CM. In contrast, no significant simple main effect of CM on RBANS attention was found among MUD patients carrying BDNF rs10835210 CC genotype.

Conclusions: Our findings suggest that CM impairs multiple aspects of cognitive function in MUD patients. Moreover, the BDNF gene rs10835210 polymorphism mediates the effect of CM on cognitive function in this population.

Keywords: BDNF rs10835210; Childhood maltreatment; Cognitive function; Gene–environment interaction; Methamphetamine use disorder.

Abstract

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