title: Common variants in the ARC gene are not associated with cognitive abilities.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The Activity-Regulated Cytoskeleton-associated (ARC) gene encodes a protein that is critical for the consolidation of synaptic plasticity and long-term memory formation. Given ARC's key role in synaptic plasticity, we hypothesized that genetic variations in ARC may contribute to interindividual variability in human cognitive abilities or to attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) susceptibility, where cognitive impairment often accompanies the disorder.
  
  
  METHODS
  We tested whether ARC variants are associated with six measures of cognitive functioning in 670 healthy subjects in the Norwegian Cognitive NeuroGenetics (NCNG) by extracting data from its Genome-Wide Association Study (GWAS). In addition, the Swedish Betula sample of 1800 healthy subjects who underwent similar cognitive testing was also tested for association with 19 tag SNPs.
  
  
  RESULTS
  No ARC variants show association at the study-wide level, but several markers show a trend toward association with human cognitive functions. We also tested for association between ARC SNPs and ADHD in a Norwegian sample of cases and controls, but found no significant associations.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study suggests that common genetic variants located in ARC do not account for variance in human cognitive abilities, though small effects cannot be ruled out.
authors.affiliation: Dr. Einar Martens Research Group for Biological Psychiatry Center for Medical Genetics and Molecular Medicine Haukeland University Hospital Bergen Norway ; Department of Biomedicine University of Bergen Bergen Norway ; K.G. Jebsen Center for Research on Neuropsychiatric Disorders University of Bergen Bergen Norway.
authors.forename: Craig
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Myrum
authors.affiliation: Dr. Einar Martens Research Group for Biological Psychiatry Center for Medical Genetics and Molecular Medicine Haukeland University Hospital Bergen Norway ; K.G. Jebsen Center for Psychosis Research and the Norwegian Center for Mental Disorders Research (NORMENT) Department of Clinical Science University of Bergen Bergen Norway.
authors.forename: Sudheer
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Giddaluru
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedicine University of Bergen Bergen Norway ; K.G. Jebsen Center for Research on Neuropsychiatric Disorders University of Bergen Bergen Norway.
authors.forename: Kaya
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Jacobsen
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology University of Oslo Oslo Norway ; Norwegian Center for Mental Disorders Research (NORMENT) and the KG Jebsen Center for Psychosis Research Division of Mental Health and Addiction Oslo University Hospital Oslo Norway.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Espeseth
authors.affiliation: Umeå Center for Functional Brain Imaging Umeå University Umeå Sweden.
authors.forename: Lars
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Nyberg
authors.affiliation: K.G. Jebsen Center for Research on Neuropsychiatric Disorders University of Bergen Bergen Norway ; Department of Biological and Medical Psychology University of Bergen Bergen Norway.
authors.forename: Astri J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Lundervold
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedicine University of Bergen Bergen Norway ; K.G. Jebsen Center for Research on Neuropsychiatric Disorders University of Bergen Bergen Norway.
authors.forename: Jan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Haavik
authors.affiliation: Aging Research Center Karolinska Institutet Stockholm Sweden ; Umeå Center for Functional Brain Imaging Umeå University Umeå Sweden.
authors.forename: Lars-Göran
authors.initials: LG
authors.lastname: Nilsson
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology University of Oslo Oslo Norway ; Norwegian Center for Mental Disorders Research (NORMENT) and the KG Jebsen Center for Psychosis Research Division of Mental Health and Addiction Oslo University Hospital Oslo Norway.
authors.forename: Ivar
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Reinvang
authors.affiliation: Dr. Einar Martens Research Group for Biological Psychiatry Center for Medical Genetics and Molecular Medicine Haukeland University Hospital Bergen Norway ; K.G. Jebsen Center for Psychosis Research and the Norwegian Center for Mental Disorders Research (NORMENT) Department of Clinical Science University of Bergen Bergen Norway.
authors.forename: Vidar M
authors.initials: VM
authors.lastname: Steen
authors.affiliation: K.G. Jebsen Center for Research on Neuropsychiatric Disorders University of Bergen Bergen Norway ; Department of Clinical Science University of Bergen Bergen Norway.
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Johansson
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedicine University of Bergen Bergen Norway ; K.G. Jebsen Center for Research on Neuropsychiatric Disorders University of Bergen Bergen Norway.
authors.forename: Karin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Wibrand
authors.affiliation: Dr. Einar Martens Research Group for Biological Psychiatry Center for Medical Genetics and Molecular Medicine Haukeland University Hospital Bergen Norway ; K.G. Jebsen Center for Psychosis Research and the Norwegian Center for Mental Disorders Research (NORMENT) Department of Clinical Science University of Bergen Bergen Norway.
authors.forename: Stephanie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Le Hellard
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedicine University of Bergen Bergen Norway ; K.G. Jebsen Center for Research on Neuropsychiatric Disorders University of Bergen Bergen Norway.
authors.forename: Clive R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Bramham
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000235:genetics; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology*; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000235:genetics; D003598:Cytoskeletal Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D014644:Genetic Variation; D055106:Genome-Wide Association Study; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D009473:Neuronal Plasticity / Q000235:genetics; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide
chemical_list: D003598:Cytoskeletal Proteins; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; C092069:activity regulated cytoskeletal-associated protein
keywords: Activity‐regulated cytoskeleton‐associated protein; cognition; genetics; memory; single‐nucleotide polymorphism; synaptic plasticity