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Exceptional memory performance in the Long Life Family Study.

TitleExceptional memory performance in the Long Life Family Study.
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2013
AuthorsBarral, S, Cosentino, S, Costa, R, Andersen, SL, Christensen, K, Eckfeldt, JH, Newman, AB, Perls, TT, Province, MA, Hadley, EC, Rossi, WK, Mayeux, R
Corporate AuthorsLong Life Family Study
JournalNeurobiol Aging
Volume34
Issue11
Pagination2445-8
Date Published2013 Nov
ISSN1558-1497
KeywordsAged, 80 and over, Family Health, Female, Humans, Longevity, Male, Memory, Episodic, Phenotype
Abstract

Research to understand variability at the highest end of the cognitive performance distribution has been scarce. Our aim was to define a cognitive endophenotype based on exceptional episodic memory (EM) performance and to investigate familial aggregation of EM in families from the Long Life Family Study (LLFS). Using a sample of 1911 nondemented offspring of long-lived probands, we created a quantitative phenotype, EM (memory z ≥ 1.5), and classified LLFS families as EM and non-EM families based on the number of EM offspring. We then assessed differences in memory performance between LLFS relatives in the parental generation of EM families and those in non-EM families using multivariate analysis adjusted for APOE Apolipoprotein E genotype. LLFS relatives in the proband generation from EM families showed better EM performance than those from non-EM families (β = 0.74, standard error = 0.19, p = 1.4 × 10(-4)). We demonstrated that there is a familial correlation of the EM endophenotype, suggesting that genetic variants might influence memory performance in long-lived families.

DOI10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2013.05.002
Alternate JournalNeurobiol. Aging
PubMed ID23759147
PubMed Central IDPMC4095822
Grant ListU01 AG023712 / AG / NIA NIH HHS / United States
U01 AG023744 / AG / NIA NIH HHS / United States
U24 AG021886 / AG / NIA NIH HHS / United States
U01 AG032984 / AG / NIA NIH HHS / United States
P30 AG034424 / AG / NIA NIH HHS / United States
P01AG08761 / AG / NIA NIH HHS / United States
U01 AG023749 / AG / NIA NIH HHS / United States
U01-AG023712 / AG / NIA NIH HHS / United States
U01 AG023755 / AG / NIA NIH HHS / United States
P01 AG008761 / AG / NIA NIH HHS / United States
U01 AG023746 / AG / NIA NIH HHS / United States
U01-AG23744 / AG / NIA NIH HHS / United States
U01-AG023755 / AG / NIA NIH HHS / United States
U01-AG023746 / AG / NIA NIH HHS / United States
U01-AG023749 / AG / NIA NIH HHS / United States