ADNP regulates cognition: A multitasking protein

Abstract

Introduction With the advantage of rapid progress of DNA/RNA sequencing techniques, it has become feasible to identify the cause of developmental disorders encompassing intellectual disabilities to single de novo mutated genes (e.g., Larsen et al., 2016; Deciphering Developmental Disorders, 2017; Stessman et al., 2017). It is my opinion that we should study in depth, the leading identified genes, to acquire better understanding of the molecular basis for human cognitive functions. Furthermore, from a translational science point of view, understanding genes regulating cognition will facilitate drug development to currently untreatable devastating disease, which hamper cognition. Here, I focus on activity-dependent neuroprotective protein (ADNP) (Gozes et al., 2018) showing a tight association with cognition, and in my opinion, a key gene regulating cognitive functions.