title: Differential effects of the ApoE4 genotype on brain structure and function.
abstract: The apolipoprotein E ε4 allele is a well established genetic risk factor for sporadic Alzheimer's disease. It is associated with structural and functional brain changes in healthy young, middle-aged and elderly subjects. In the current study, we assessed the impact of the ApoE genotype on brain macro- and microstructure, cognitive functioning and brain activity in fifty healthy young subjects (25 ApoE ε4 (ε4+) carriers and 25 non-carriers (ε4-), mean age 26.4±4.6years). We used diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and voxel based morphometry (VBM) to assess brain structure, an extensive neuropsychological battery to test cognitive functioning and event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to capture brain activity during episodic memory encoding and retrieval. ApoE ε4 carriers differed from non-carriers in fMRI activations but not in cognitive performance nor in brain micro- and macrostructure. These results suggest functional alterations in the episodic memory network that are modulated by the ε4 allele and might precede clinical or structural neurodegeneration.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Neurophysiology and Neuroimaging, Dept. of Psychiatry, Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Goethe Univ., Frankfurt/Main, Germany. Electronic address: Silke.Matura@kgu.de.
authors.forename: Silke
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Matura
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Neurophysiology and Neuroimaging, Dept. of Psychiatry, Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Goethe Univ., Frankfurt/Main, Germany.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Prvulovic
authors.affiliation: Institute of Neuroradiology, Goethe Univ., Frankfurt/Main, Germany; Centre for Research on Individual Development and Adaptive Education (IDeA), Goethe Univ., Frankfurt/Main, Germany.
authors.forename: Alina
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Jurcoane
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Neurophysiology and Neuroimaging, Dept. of Psychiatry, Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Goethe Univ., Frankfurt/Main, Germany.
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Hartmann
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Neurophysiology and Neuroimaging, Dept. of Psychiatry, Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Goethe Univ., Frankfurt/Main, Germany.
authors.forename: Julia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Miller
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Neurophysiology and Neuroimaging, Dept. of Psychiatry, Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Goethe Univ., Frankfurt/Main, Germany.
authors.forename: Monika
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Scheibe
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Neurophysiology and Neuroimaging, Dept. of Psychiatry, Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Goethe Univ., Frankfurt/Main, Germany.
authors.forename: Laurence
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: O'Dwyer
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Neurophysiology and Neuroimaging, Dept. of Psychiatry, Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Goethe Univ., Frankfurt/Main, Germany.
authors.forename: Viola
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Oertel-Knöchel
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Neurophysiology and Neuroimaging, Dept. of Psychiatry, Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Goethe Univ., Frankfurt/Main, Germany.
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Knöchel
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Neurophysiology and Neuroimaging, Dept. of Psychiatry, Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Goethe Univ., Frankfurt/Main, Germany.
authors.forename: Britta
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Reinke
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Neurophysiology and Neuroimaging, Dept. of Psychiatry, Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Goethe Univ., Frankfurt/Main, Germany.
authors.forename: Tarik
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Karakaya
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Neurophysiology and Neuroimaging, Dept. of Psychiatry, Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Goethe Univ., Frankfurt/Main, Germany.
authors.forename: Fabian
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Fußer
authors.affiliation: Institute of General Practice, Goethe Univ., Frankfurt/Main, Germany.
authors.forename: Johannes
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Pantel
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D053327:Apolipoprotein E4 / Q000235:genetics*; D001921:Brain / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000502:physiology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D056324:Diffusion Tensor Imaging; D005260:Female; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D061212:Memory, Episodic; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D053327:Apolipoprotein E4
keywords: Apolipoprotein4; DTI; Memory; VBM; fMRI