- The gene involved, KLOTHO, provides the coding for a protein called klotho that is produced in the kidney and brain and regulates many processes in the body, the researchers said.
- People who carry this gene variant have larger volumes in a front part of the brain involved in planning and decision-making, researchers reported Jan. 27 in the Annals of Clinical and Translational Neurology.
- These folks performed better on tests of working memory and the brain’s processing speed, both considered good measures of the planning and decision-making functions controlled by the brain region in question.