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Human Molecular Genetics Advance Access originally published online on June 29, 2005
Human Molecular Genetics 2005 14(15):2241-2246; doi:10.1093/hmg/ddi228
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© The Author 2005. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oupjournals.org

The prion gene is associated with human long-term memory

Andreas Papassotiropoulos1,*, M. Axel Wollmer1, Adriano Aguzzi2, Christoph Hock1, Roger M. Nitsch1 and Dominique J.-F. de Quervain1

1Division of Psychiatry Research, University of Zurich, 8032 Zurich, Switzerland and 2Institute of Neuropathology, University Hospital of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland

* To whom correspondence should be addressed at: Division of Psychiatry Research, University of Zurich, Lenggstr. 31, PO Box 1931, 8032 Zurich, Switzerland. Tel:+ 41 13842644; Fax: +41 13842686; Email: papas{at}bli.unizh.ch

Received May 2, 2005; Accepted June 23, 2005

Human cognitive processes are highly variable across individuals and are influenced by both genetic and environmental factors. Although genetic variations affect short-term memory in humans, it is unknown whether genetic variability has also an impact on long-term memory. Because prion-like conformational changes may be involved in the induction of long-lasting synaptic plasticity, we examined the impact of single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of the prion protein gene (PRNP) on long-term memory in healthy young humans. SNPs in the genomic region of PRNP were associated with better long-term memory performance in two independent populations with different educational background. Among the examined PRNP SNPs, the common Met129Val polymorphism yielded the highest effect size. Twenty-four hours after a word list-learning task, carriers of either the 129MM or the 129MV genotype recalled 17% more information than 129VV carriers, but short-term memory was unaffected. These results suggest a role for the prion protein in the formation of long-term memory in humans.


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