Young adults with a genetic variant that increases their chance of developing Alzheimer's later in life also have increased activity in the section of their brain devoted to memory, a new study has found.
Researchers say the results suggest that the memory portion of the brain, the hippocampus, may eventually get worn out from a lifetime of overuse. Researchers conducted fMRI brain scans of 36 volunteers, half of whom had at least one copy of the gene, known as APOE4.
"We were surprised to see that even when the volunteers carrying APOE4 weren't being asked to do anything, you could see the memory part of the brain working harder than it was in the other volunteers," [study coauthor Christian] Beckmann said.... "Not all APOE4 carriers go on to develop Alzheimer's, but it would make sense if in some people, the memory part of the brain effectively becomes exhausted from overwork ...
