
Brain-derived neurotrophic factor
Yves-Alain Barde
BDNF was isolated from pig brain tissue in 1982 by Yves-Alain Barde and Hans Thoenen, identifying it as a distinct protein.
Three pounds of tissue, and the slow business of mapping it.

BDNF was isolated from pig brain tissue in 1982 by Yves-Alain Barde and Hans Thoenen, identifying it as a distinct protein.







Ehrlich’s intravenous dye experiments revealed selective absence of brain staining — but he misinterpreted it as passive under-uptake. His student Goldmann’s 1913 intracerebrospinal injection proved compartmentalization. The barrier was attributed to blood vessels, not a membrane. Ehrlich never believed in it. The term came later, from Lina Stern.

