In summary, we found T carriers of SNP-2 and A carriers for SNP-3 had reduced hippocampus concentration compared to individuals homozygous for the C allele of these variants. VEGF is an angiogenic protein demonstrated in rats to induce neurogenesis in the subventricular and subgranular zones of the hippocampus dentate gyrus (6), and to protect the hippocampus from neurotoxicity such as through glutamate excesses (7). Rat models further support VEGF-induced neurogenesis as a key mediator of beneficial effects of environmental enrichment and exercise on hippocampus-dependent memory and learning (8, 9). The current findings suggest that effects of VEGFA in hippocampus found in rats extend to humans; specific variation in VEGFA may contribute to individual differences in hippocampus structure and potentially function.
