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Individual risk markers for depression and anxiety disorders have been identified but the explicit pathways that link genes and environment to these markers remain unknown. Here we examined the explicit interactions between the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) Val66Met gene and early life stress (ELS) exposure in brain (amygdala–hippocampal–prefrontal gray matter volume), body (heart rate), temperament and cognition in 374 healthy European volunteers assessed for depression and anxiety symptoms. Brain imaging data were based on a subset of 89 participants. Multiple regression analysis revealed main effects of ELS for body arousal (resting heart rate, P= 0.005) and symptoms (depression and anxiety, P< 0.001) in the absence of main effects for BDNF. In addition, significant BDNF–ELS interactions indicated that BDNF Met carriers exposed to greater ELS have smaller hippocampal and …