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Cited by 62Cognitive Abilities and TestingDementia and Cognitive Impairment ResearchMemory Processes and Influences

Differential Genetic Influence for Components of Memory in Aging Adult Twins

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Swan, Gary E., Reed, Terry, Jack, Lisa M., Miller, Bruce L., Markee, Taryn, Wolf, Philip A., DeCarli, Charles, Carmelli, Dorit·1999·Archives of Neurology
DOI 10.1001/archneur.56.9.1127
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Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relative proportion of genetic and environmental contributions to verbal memory in community-dwelling World War II veteran twins. DESIGN: The California Verbal Learning Test (CVLT) was administered to 94 monozygotic (MZ) and 89 dizygotic (DZ) elderly male twin pair participants in the fourth examination of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Twin Study. SETTING: Subjects voluntarily participated on an outpatient basis at a research or medical center facility in 1 of 4 sites in the United States. PARTICIPANTS: Subjects had a mean age of 71.8 years (SD, 2.9 years), a mean educational level of 13.6 years (SD, 2.8 years), and no history of stroke and/or a Mini-Mental State Examination score of 23 or greater. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Twin pair similarity in performance on 4 factor analytically derived components of the CVLT measuring verbal learning and memory, response discrimination, learning strategy, and recognition memory. RESULTS: The MZ intraclass correlation was significantly larger than the DZ correlation for verbal learning and memory (I<.001) but not for the other 3 components of memory. Using maximum likelihood methods, the best-fitting genetic model indicated that verbal learning and memory has a substantial genetic component (56% of total variance), whereas response discrimination has a much smaller, although still detectable, genetic component (24% of total variance). There is no evidence of genetic influence on learning strategy or recognition memory. CONCLUSION: Differential contribution of genetic and environmental influences to specific components of memory suggest that, in this group of elderly male twin pairs, some components may be more amenable to intervention than others.

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  • Twin studies have estimated that 50% of variance in learning performance, typically measured after short retention periods of 5-30 min, is due to genetic factors.

    “Twin studies have estimated that 50% of the variance in learning performance, typically measured after short retention periods of 5-30 min, is due to genetic factors (127,885,1164,1262).”

    From About Sleep's Role in Memory (2013) · cites this paper as [1164]

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Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Swan, G. E., Reed, T., Jack, L. M., Miller, B. L., Markee, T., Wolf, P. A., DeCarli, C., & Carmelli, D.
Affiliations
Boston University (US)
ORCID
Venue
Archives of Neurology
Publisher
American Medical Association (AMA)
Published
1999-09-01
Volume
56
Issue
9
Pages
1127
ISSN
0003-9942 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1001/archneur.56.9.1127
OpenAlex
W2170907951
Cited by
62
References
0
Citations by year
2026: 1 · 2023: 2 · 2021: 2 · 2020: 1 · 2019: 1 · 2018: 2 · 2017: 2 · 2015: 2 · 2014: 3 · 2013: 4 · 2012: 2
FWCI
6.31
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Archives of Neurology (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
  • National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (HL 51429, R01HL051429)
  • National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (R01NS017950)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Cognitive Abilities and Testing
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Dementia and Cognitive Impairment Research
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Memory Processes and Influences
Keywords
verbal memory, aging, genetic factors, heritability, monozygotic twins, dizygotic twins, verbal learning, learning strategies, recognition memory, environmental influences, World War II veterans, older men
MeSH terms
Aged, Discrimination Learning, Humans, Learning Disabilities, Male, Memory, Neuropsychological Tests, Mental Recall, Twins, Twins, Dizygotic, Twins, Monozygotic, Verbal Learning

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