title: The APOE paradox: do attentional control differences in mid-adulthood reflect risk of late-life cognitive decline.
abstract: Possession of an Apolipoprotein E (APOE) e4 allele is an established risk factor for Alzheimer's disease, whereas the less commonly studied e2 variant is premised to offer some protection. This research explores the purported deleterious-protective dichotomy of APOE variants on attentional control in mid-adulthood. Sixty-six volunteers, aged 45-55 years, completed 3 tasks that provided complementary measures of attentional control: prospective memory, sustained attention, and inhibition. Performance was compared between e2 carriers, e4 carriers, and e3 homozygotes (the population norm). Carriers of the e4 allele showed subtle disadvantages, compared with the e3 group, in accuracy of Stroop task and prospective memory performance. Contrary to expectations, e2 carriers showed performance disadvantages in sustained attention. The finding of detrimental effects in attentional control for both e4 and e2 complicates the current model that proposes opposing effects of these variants on later-life cognition. Future research is needed to understand how cognitive differences develop with increasing age, and the physiological mechanisms that underpin these changes.
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology, University of Sussex, Brighton, East Sussex, UK.
authors.forename: Claire
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lancaster
authors.affiliation: Brighton and Sussex Medical School, Institute of Postgraduate Medicine, Brighton, East Sussex, UK.
authors.forename: Naji
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Tabet
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology, University of Sussex, Brighton, East Sussex, UK. Electronic address: j.rusted@sussex.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rusted
mesh_terms: D000483:Alleles; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000235:genetics / Q000523:psychology; D001057:Apolipoproteins E / Q000235:genetics*; D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology*; D003071:Cognition; D000066492:Cognitive Aging / Q000523:psychology; D060825:Cognitive Dysfunction / Q000235:genetics* / Q000523:psychology; D056344:Executive Function; D005260:Female; D014644:Genetic Variation; D006579:Heterozygote; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory; D008875:Middle Aged; D012306:Risk
chemical_list: D001057:Apolipoproteins E
keywords: APOE; Alzheimer's disease; Attention; Cognitive aging; Executive function; Mid-adulthood