Effects of APOE genotype on episodic memory in mid life

Summary

Remembering our day-to-day experiences is a fundamental human ability.

One of the earliest symptoms experienced by people who have Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the dramatic deterioration of memory for recent events. A variant of a particular gene, the e4 variant of the Apolipoprotein E gene (APOE-e4), confers the largest known genetic risk factor for the development of late onset AD (LOAD). We want to examine whether this gene variant influences how memories are retrieved in mid-age adult carriers who are showing no other signs of developing LOAD.

Data for this research study will be collected between April 2021 and December 2021 and aims to recruit 450 healthy 45-65 year olds, and will compare APOE-e4 carriers and non-carriers on their memory performance. The study will be run entirely online, using newly-developed tools to test memory remotely.

This study will be the first large-scale investigation of the effects of APOE e4 genotype in healthy adults on processes of everyday memory.

Organisation: This study is organised by Dr Claire Lancaster from the University of Sussex.

Participation: 401 volunteers between the age of 45 and 65 took part in this study which consisted of online questionnaires, neurological and memory tasks.