Work

Reply to Liu and Jiang: Maintenance of postreproductive cognitive capacity by inclusive fitness

Year: 2016

Type: letter

Abstract: Our paper examines genes influencing cognitive decline in postreproductive humans, which arises from neurodegenerative and cardiovascular disease (1). Among these polymorphic genes, we found many protective alleles that are derived from and are unique to the human lineage. Liu and Jiang (2) add an important observation about potential effects of some of these loci earlier in life. Data from three studies indicate that these genes do not influence cognitive performance during childhood (3) or in the general population (4, 5). Our paper (1) does not address early phenotypes, as the establishment of early cognitive function and protection against late degeneration need not involve the same … [↵][1]1To whom correspondence may be addressed. Email: a1varki{at}ucsd.edu or pgagneux{at}ucsd.edu. [1]: #xref-corresp-1-1

Source: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1601419113

Authors: Stevan A. Springer, Flavio Schwarz, Tasha K. Altheide, Nissi M. Varki, Ajit Varki, Pascal Gagneux

Institutions: University of California San Diego, Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny

Language: English

Topic: Animal Behavior and Reproduction

Subfield: Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics

Field: Agricultural and Biological Sciences

Domain: Life Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: green

Funders: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institute of General Medical Sciences