The prevalence of the Val66Met polymorphism in musicians: Possible evidence for compensatory neuroplasticity from a pilot study

It has been reported that MET carriers may express deficits in motor learning and neuroplasticity, possibly deterring musicianship. Here, we compared the prevalence of the Val66Met Brain-derived Neurotrophic Factor single nucleotide polymorphism (rs6265) in a sample of musicians (N=50) and an ethnically matched subset from the 1000 Human Genome Project (N-424). We report no differences in genotype or allele frequencies. Results are consistent with the view that hypothesized Met-dependent deficits in neuroplasticity are either mild or can be overcome by long-term practice.

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