rs6265
BDNF Val66Met
What this position does
BDNF supports the growth and survival of neurons. This change reduces how efficiently it is released in an activity-dependent way, and it has been studied in memory, anxiety and response to antidepressants.
What each result means
| If you carry | What it means |
|---|---|
| No copies of the effect version CC | Val/Val, the most common European genotype The most common genotype in European populations. Normal activity-dependent release. |
| One copy CT | Val/Met, one Met copy One Met copy. Associated in some studies with differences in episodic memory and stress response; effect sizes are small. |
| Two copies TT | Met/Met, two Met copies Two Met copies. Uncommon in Europe, much more common in East Asia, where roughly half the population carries at least one. |
Worth knowing. The molecular effect is well established. The behavioural effects are small and inconsistently replicated.
How common each version is
| Ancestry group | T (the effect version) | |
|---|---|---|
| African | 1.1% | |
| American | 15.3% | |
| East Asian | 48.8% | |
| European | 19.7% | |
| South Asian | 20.2% |
1000 Genomes Project phase 3, via Ensembl, retrieved 2026-09-23. These groupings are coarse and flatten a great deal of internal diversity, particularly within Africa. A variant being common somewhere tells you where a piece of your ancestry probably comes from, and nothing else.
How many people carry each result
| Ancestry group | CC | CT | TT |
|---|---|---|---|
| African | 647 / 661 | 14 / 661 | 0 / 661 |
| European | 323 / 503 | 162 / 503 | 18 / 503 |
| East Asian | 136 / 504 | 244 / 504 | 124 / 504 |
| South Asian | 314 / 489 | 152 / 489 | 23 / 489 |
| American | 249 / 347 | 90 / 347 | 8 / 347 |
Counts of people, not modelled frequencies: every one of the 2,504 individuals sequenced by the 1000 Genomes Project phase 3, tallied by the genotype they carry. Deriving these from allele frequencies instead would assume random mating inside each group and undercount the homozygotes.
How to find out which you have
If you have taken a test with 23andMe, AncestryDNA, MyHeritage, Family Tree DNA, TellMeGen or Living DNA, this position is very likely already in the raw data file they gave you. You do not need another test.
One thing to watch if you look it up by hand: testing companies report some positions from one DNA strand and some from the other, and the file does not say which. Read the letters as they appear and you will get the opposite of the truth for some positions. Sequencings resolves that automatically.
Source
Coordinates and allele pair verified against Ensembl GRCh37. Direction of effect verified against VEP protein consequences or 1000 Genomes population frequency. Category: Trait.
Common questions
What is rs6265?
rs6265 is a position in the BDNF gene on chromosome 11. BDNF supports the growth and survival of neurons. This change reduces how efficiently it is released in an activity-dependent way, and it has been studied in memory, anxiety and response to antidepressants.
What does it mean if I have TT at rs6265?
Met/Met, two Met copies. Two Met copies. Uncommon in Europe, much more common in East Asia, where roughly half the population carries at least one.
What does it mean if I have CC at rs6265?
Val/Val, the most common European genotype. The most common genotype in European populations. Normal activity-dependent release.
How do I find out my rs6265 genotype?
If you have taken a home DNA test, this position is very likely in the raw data file you were given. Sequencings reads that file in your browser without uploading it, and resolves which DNA strand each position was reported from, which is the step most manual lookups get wrong.
This is reference information, not medical advice, and not a diagnosis. See the medical disclaimer. Category: Trait.