Interestingly PEA was shown to increase hippocampal neurogenesis and neuroplasticity in an established murine model of autism [33], and prevented the decrease in brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) in a murine model of cerebral ischemia [56]. The gene discussed is GDNF; the disease is brain ischemia.