Head Lines; April/May/June 2009; Scientific American Mind; by Roberta Friedman; Marina Krakovsky; Kurt Kleiner; Nikhil Swaminathan; Nicole Branan; Rachel Mahan; Lucas Laursen; David Dobbs; Melinda Wenner; 8 Page(s)

Scientists know that small variations in certain genes can predispose people to cancers or heart disease. Now researchers are starting to show a direct, quantifiable effect on learning traceable to these types of genetic influences: single-nucleotide polymorphisms. A difference in just one amino acid in a protein might explain why some people learn new motor skills faster and reach higher levels of performance.

The protein, called brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), is a key driver of synaptic plasticity, the ability of the connections between brain cells to change in strength. This plasticity is an important factor in learning, explains neurologist Janine Reis, who led the study at the National Institutes of Health. According to Reis, this finding offers the first evidence that slight variations in BDNFs structure affect learning ability.