Association of KIBRA and memory

We report on the association of KIBRA with memory in two samples of older individuals assessed on either memory for semantically unrelated word stimuli (Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test, n = 2091), or a measure of semantically related material (the WAIS Logical Memory Test of prose-passage recall, n = 542). SNP rs17070145 was associated with delayed recall of semantically unrelated items, but not with immediate recall for these stimuli, nor with either immediate or delayed recall for semantically related material. The pattern of results suggests a role for the T → C substitution in intron 9 of KIBRA in a component of episodic memory involved in long-term storage but independent of processes shared with immediate recall such as rehearsal involved in acquisition and rehearsal or processes.