BDNF and schizophrenia: To further investigate the genetic factors affecting empathy, a likely genetic candidate is the Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) Val66Met polymorphism (196 A/G; rs6265), a genetic variant extensively studied for its role in intermediate phenotypes of social perception as well as in psychopathologies associated with social cognitive deficits such as schizophrenia (see [26]).