Editing Working memory (section)

== Genetics ==

=== Behavioral genetics ===
Individual differences in working-memory capacity are to some extent [[heritable]]; that is, about half of the variation between individuals is related to differences in their genes.<ref name=":1">{{cite journal | vauthors = Engelhardt LE, Mann FD, Briley DA, Church JA, Harden KP, Tucker-Drob EM | title = Strong genetic overlap between executive functions and intelligence | journal = Journal of Experimental Psychology. General | volume = 145 | issue = 9 | pages = 1141–1159 | date = September 2016 | pmid = 27359131 | pmc = 5001920 | doi = 10.1037/xge0000195 }}</ref><ref name="Ando 615–624">{{cite journal | vauthors = Ando J, Ono Y, Wright MJ | title = Genetic structure of spatial and verbal working memory | journal = Behavior Genetics | volume = 31 | issue = 6 | pages = 615–624 | date = November 2001 | pmid = 11838538 | doi = 10.1023/A:1013353613591 | s2cid = 39136550 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Blokland GA, McMahon KL, Thompson PM, Martin NG, de Zubicaray GI, Wright MJ | title = Heritability of working memory brain activation | journal = The Journal of Neuroscience | volume = 31 | issue = 30 | pages = 10882–10890 | date = July 2011 | pmid = 21795540 | pmc = 3163233 | doi = 10.1523/jneurosci.5334-10.2011 }}</ref> The genetic component of variability of working-memory capacity is largely shared with that of fluid intelligence.<ref name="Ando 615–624"/><ref name=":1" />

=== Attempts to identify individual genes ===
Little is known about which genes are related to the functioning of working memory. Within the theoretical framework of the multi-component model, one candidate gene has been proposed, namely [[ROBO1]] for the hypothetical [[phonological loop]] component of working memory.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Bates TC, Luciano M, Medland SE, Montgomery GW, Wright MJ, Martin NG | title = Genetic variance in a component of the language acquisition device: ROBO1 polymorphisms associated with phonological buffer deficits | journal = Behavior Genetics | volume = 41 | issue = 1 | pages = 50–57 | date = January 2011 | pmid = 20949370 | doi = 10.1007/s10519-010-9402-9 | s2cid = 13129473 }}</ref>

More recently another gene was found regarding working memory. Looking at genetically diverse mice, [[GPR12]] was found in promoting a protein necessary for working memory. When they took mice that were performing worse on memory tests than their control mouse counterparts and increased their [[GPR12]] proteins, those mice improved from 50% to 80%. That brought the low performance mice up to level similar to their control counterparts.<ref>{{Cite web | vauthors = Ramanujan K | date = 29 September 2020 |title=Gene links short-term memory to unexpected brain area|url=https://news.cornell.edu/stories/2020/09/gene-links-short-term-memory-unexpected-brain-area|access-date=2021-10-17|website=Cornell Chronicle|language=en}}</ref>

With the build up of prior work on mice such as testing the Formimidoyltransferase Cyclodeaminase (FTCD) gene in regards to the Morris water maze performance, testing out if there was a potential variation of genetic coding within the FTCD gene within humans was soon tested out. Results showed that a variation was found but varied depending on the age of the individual. In regards to the FTCD gene, it appeared that only children were affected by it. Working memory seemed to have a higher performance when the FTCD gene was present but had no similar affect to adults.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Greenwood PM, Schmidt K, Lin MK, Lipsky R, Parasuraman R, Jankord R | title = A functional promoter variant of the human formimidoyltransferase cyclodeaminase (FTCD) gene is associated with working memory performance in young but not older adults | journal = Neuropsychology | volume = 32 | issue = 8 | pages = 973–984 | date = November 2018 | pmid = 29927301 | doi = 10.1037/neu0000470 | s2cid = 49350692 }}</ref>