Genetic architecture of learning and delayed recall: A twin study of episodic memory.
Open accessAbstract
OBJECTIVE: Although episodic memory is often conceptualized as consisting of multiple component processes, there is a lack of understanding as to whether these processes are influenced by the same or different genetic determinants. The aim of the present study was to utilize multivariate twin analyses to elucidate the degree to which learning and delayed recall, two critical measures of episodic memory performance, have common or different genetic and environmental influences. METHOD: Participants from the Vietnam Era Twin Study of Aging (314 monozygotic twin pairs, 259 dizygotic twin pairs, and 47 unpaired twins) were assessed using the second edition of the California Verbal Learning Test. Mean age at the time of the evaluation was 55.4 years (SD = 2.5). RESULTS: Model fitting revealed the presence of a higher-order latent factor influencing learning, short- and long-delay free recall, with a heritability of .36. The best-fitting model also indicated specific genetic influences on learning, which accounted for 10% of the overall variance. Given that learning involves the acquisition and retrieval of information, whereas delayed recall involves only retrieval, we conclude that these specific effects are likely to reflect genes that are specific to acquisition processes. CONCLUSION: These results demonstrate that even in nonclinical populations, it is possible to differentiate component processes in episodic memory. These different genetic influences may have implications for gene association studies, as well as other genetic studies of cognitive aging and disorders of episodic memory such as Alzheimer's disease or mild cognitive impairment.
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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 [885]
The Results report that genetic influences accounted for 36% of the variance in the study’s learning measure (total of trials 1–5), not 50%. The Discussion describes traditional delayed testing as occurring after 20–40 minutes, rather than establishing the claimed 5–30-minute range. The paper does mention a prior study’s .56 heritability estimate, but that estimate is for a combined verbal learning-and-recall factor, not learning performance alone. (LLM, conf=0.87)
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Rasch, B., & Born, J. (2013) · Physiological Reviews · doi:10.1152/physrev.00032.2012 · Cited by 2,783 · see citing works
- Authors
- Panizzon, M. S., Lyons, M. J., Jacobson, K. C., Franz, C. E., Grant, M. D., Eisen, S. A., Xian, H., & Kremen, W. S.
- Affiliations
- University of California San Diego (US)
- Boston University (US)
- University of Chicago (US)
- St. Louis VA Medical Center (US)
- ORCID
- Venue
- Neuropsychology
- Published
- 2011
- Volume
- 25
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 488-498
- ISSN
- 0894-4105 (ISSN-L)
- 1931-1559
- PMC
- PMC3125484
- OpenAlex
- W2039017022
- Cited by
- 34
- References
- 1
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 2 · 2022: 2 · 2020: 1 · 2019: 1 · 2018: 3 · 2017: 3 · 2016: 2 · 2015: 3 · 2014: 5 · 2013: 6
- FWCI
- 2.11
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- Neuropsychology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institutes of Health (R01 AG18386; RO1 AG18384; RO1 AG22381; RO1 AG 22982)
- US Department of Veterans Affairs
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Memory Processes and Influences
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Cognitive Abilities and Testing
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Dementia and Cognitive Impairment Research
- Keywords
- episodic memory, learning, delayed recall, heritability, genetic architecture, environmental influences, free recall, cognitive aging, genetic association studies, Alzheimer's disease, mild cognitive impairment, monozygotic and dizygotic twins
- MeSH terms
- Environment, Female, Humans, Longitudinal Studies, Male, Middle Aged, Models, Psychological, Neuropsychological Tests, Reaction Time, Mental Recall, Twins, Twins, Dizygotic, Twins, Monozygotic, Verbal Learning, Multivariate Analysis
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