Differences in default network and episodic memory related brain activity as a function of apoe genotype in healthy young adults

Abstract

Event Abstract Back to Event Differences in default network and episodic memory related brain activity as a function of apoe genotype in healthy young adults Reza Habib1* and Kit Elam2 1 Department of Psychology, Southern Illinois University Carbondale, United States 2 Centre for Research on Children and Families, University of Otago, New Zealand The presence of the E4 allele of the APOE gene has been shown to be a risk factor for the development of cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s disease in elderly individuals. Few studies, however, have examined differences in behavior and brain activity as a function of APOE genotype in young, healthy adults. In the present study, brain activity, as measured with fMRI, was contrasted between n=10 young, healthy carriers of the E4 allele of the APOE gene and n=12 young, healthy non-carriers of the E4 allele during an associative recognition Episodic Memory task and a rest task designed to activate the brain’s Default Network. Corrected recognition performance did not significantly differ between carriers and non-carriers of the E4 allele. Significantly greater activity for hits than misses in non-carriers of the E4 allele was noted in the left inferior parietal lobule and the left parahippocampal gyrus. No such activity was observed for carriers of the E4 allele. Activity during the rest scan was noted in the left superior parietal lobule (BA 7) in non-carriers of the E4 allele. Activity in this component of the Default Network did not reach significance in carriers of the E4 allele. Instead, carriers of the E4 allele demonstrated activity in the rest scan bilaterally in the middle frontal gyrus. These results demonstrate that young, healthy carriers of the E4 allele, in the absence of behavioral differences, nevertheless demonstrate alterations in the brain networks involved in episodic memory retrieval and the Default Network. To the extent that activity within the memory system and the Default Network is altered in Alzheimer’s disease, these results suggest that precursors of this altered function may be present many years prior to the onset of Alzheimer’s disease. Keywords: APOE gene, E4 allele Conference: XI International Conference on Cognitive Neuroscience (ICON XI), Palma, Mallorca, Spain, 25 Sep - 29 Sep, 2011. Presentation Type: Symposium: Oral Presentation Topic: Symposium 12: Human genetics of cognition Citation: Habib R and Elam K (2011). Differences in default network and episodic memory related brain activity as a function of apoe genotype in healthy young adults. Conference Abstract: XI International Conference on Cognitive Neuroscience (ICON XI). doi: 10.3389/conf.fnhum.2011.207.00536 Copyright: The abstracts in this collection have not been subject to any Frontiers peer review or checks, and are not endorsed by Frontiers. They are made available through the Frontiers publishing platform as a service to conference organizers and presenters. The copyright in the individual abstracts is owned by the author of each abstract or his/her employer unless otherwise stated. Each abstract, as well as the collection of abstracts, are published under a Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 (attribution) licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) and may thus be reproduced, translated, adapted and be the subject of derivative works provided the authors and Frontiers are attributed. For Frontiers’ terms and conditions please see https://www.frontiersin.org/legal/terms-and-conditions. Received: 14 Nov 2011; Published Online: 28 Nov 2011. * Correspondence: Dr. Reza Habib, Department of Psychology, Southern Illinois University Carbondale, Illinois, United States, rhabib@siu.edu Login Required This action requires you to be registered with Frontiers and logged in. To register or login click here. Abstract Info Abstract The Authors in Frontiers Reza Habib Kit Elam Google Reza Habib Kit Elam Google Scholar Reza Habib Kit Elam PubMed Reza Habib Kit Elam Related Article in Frontiers Google Scholar PubMed Abstract Close Back to top Javascript is disabled. Please enable Javascript in your browser settings in order to see all the content on this page.