Mechanism of Action
BDNF/TrkB Signaling
Last updated
BDNF, brain-derived neurotrophic factor, is a protein that supports the survival and growth of neurons and the strengthening of connections between them. It acts mainly through the TrkB receptor. Compounds filed here are reported either to raise BDNF levels or to act at the receptor, and those are two different claims that should be read separately.
Why it matters here
Nearly every nootropic record on the site points here, so it is where a cognitive claim can be checked against something measurable instead of taken as a description of how someone felt.
What it is not
Raising BDNF is not improving memory or focus: BDNF is a signal and cognition is an outcome, and the gap between them is where most of the marketing in this category lives. BDNF measured in blood is also not BDNF in the brain, and how well the two track each other is disputed.
Also called
- bdnf
- trkb
- bdnf signaling
- neurotrophic signalling
- bdnf/trkb
- neurotrophic peptide
- neurotrophic signaling
- bdnf upregulation
BDNF is brain-derived neurotrophic factor and TrkB is its receptor, tropomyosin receptor kinase B. Neurotrophic peptide is a loose grouping label rather than a statement about this receptor.