Calcium/Calmodulin-dependent kinase alpha (αCaMKII) has been shown to play an essential role in synaptic plasticity and in learning and memory in animal models. However, there is little evidence for an involvement in specific memories in humans. Here we tested the potential involvement of the αCaMKII coding gene CAMK2A in verbal logical memory in two Caucasian populations from Germany, in a sample of 209 elderly people with cognitive impairments and a sample of 142 healthy adults. The association of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) located within the genomic region of CAMK2A with verbal logical memory learning and retrieval from the Wechsler Memory Scale was measured and hippocampal volume was assessed by structural MRI. In the elderly people, we found the minor allele of CAMK2A intronic SNP rs919741 to predict a higher hippocampal volume and better logical memory retrieval. This association was not found in healthy adults. The present study may provide evidence for an association of a genetic variant of the CAMK2A gene specifically with retrieval of logical memory in elderly humans. This effect is possibly mediated by a higher hippocampal volume.

中文翻译：

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CAMK2A 遗传变异与老年人逻辑记忆表现和海马体积的关联。

钙/钙调素依赖性激酶 α (αCaMKII) 已被证明在动物模型的突触可塑性和学习记忆中发挥重要作用。然而，几乎没有证据表明与人类的特定记忆有关。在这里，我们测试了 αCaMKII 编码基因 CAMK2A 在来自德国的两个高加索人群的语言逻辑记忆中的潜在参与，在 209 名有认知障碍的老年人样本和 142 名健康成年人的样本中。测量了位于 CAMK2A 基因组区域内的单核苷酸多态性 (SNP) 与来自韦氏记忆量表的语言逻辑记忆学习和检索的关联，并通过结构 MRI 评估海马体积。在老年人中，我们发现 CAMK2A 内含子 SNP rs919741 的次要等位基因可以预测更高的海马体积和更好的逻辑记忆检索。在健康成年人中未发现这种关联。本研究可能为 CAMK2A 基因的遗传变异与老年人逻辑记忆的恢复之间的关联提供证据。这种效应可能是由较高的海马体积介导的。