Common <i>Kibra</i> Alleles Are Associated with Human Memory Performance

TLDR

Human memory is a polygenic trait. We performed a genome‑wide screen to identify memory‑related gene variants. A locus encoding the brain protein KIBRA was significantly associated with memory performance across three independent cohorts, is expressed in memory‑related brain structures, and shows allele‑dependent differences in hippocampal activation during retrieval, indicating a role for KIBRA in human memory.

Abstract

Human memory is a polygenic trait. We performed a genome-wide screen to identify memory-related gene variants. A genomic locus encoding the brain protein KIBRA was significantly associated with memory performance in three independent, cognitively normal cohorts from Switzerland and the United States. Gene expression studies showed that KIBRA was expressed in memory-related brain structures. Functional magnetic resonance imaging detected KIBRA allele–dependent differences in hippocampal activations during memory retrieval. Evidence from these experiments suggests a role for KIBRA in human memory.