TY - JOUR
T1 - Cognitive and emotional profiles of aged Alzheimer's disease (3×TgAD) mice: Effects of environmental enrichment and sexual dimorphism
AU - Blázquez, Gloria
AU - Cañete, Toni
AU - Tobeña, Adolf
AU - Giménez-Llort, Lydia
AU - Fernández-Teruel, Alberto
PY - 2014/7/15
Y1 - 2014/7/15
N2 - Alzheimer's disease is a neurodegenerative disorder associated with age which represents the most common cause of dementia. It is characterized by an accelerated memory loss compared to normal aging, and deterioration of other cognitive abilities that interfere with mood, reason, judgment and language. The main neuropathological hallmarks of the disorder are β-amyloid (βA) plaques and neurofibrillary Tau tangles. Triple transgenic 3. ×. TgAD mouse model develops βA and Tau pathologies in a progressive manner, with a specific temporal and anatomic profile mimicking the pattern that takes place in the human brain with AD, and showing cognitive alterations characteristic of the disease. Environmental enrichment treatment in mice induces behavioral and emotional reactivity changes, including cognitive improvements in some AD-related transgenic mice. The present work intended to characterize the behavioral profile of 3. ×. TgAD mice at advanced stages of neuropathological development (12 and 15 months of age) and to investigate whether environmental enrichment administered during adulthood was able to modify some of their behavioral and cognitive alterations. Results show that, at advanced stages of the disease 3. ×. TgAD mice show deficits of spatial learning acquisition, as well as short-term and working memory deficits, while displaying increased levels of anxiety/fearfulness and normal sensorimotor functions. 3. ×. TgAD mice also show sexual dimorphism, as reflected by increased cognitive deficits in females and increased levels of novelty-induced behavioral inhibition in males. Environmental enrichment exerts some slight positive effects, by mainly improving the initial acquisition of the spatial learning and working memory in 12-month-old 3. ×. TgAD mice. Such effects vary depending on the gender. © 2014 Elsevier B.V.
AB - Alzheimer's disease is a neurodegenerative disorder associated with age which represents the most common cause of dementia. It is characterized by an accelerated memory loss compared to normal aging, and deterioration of other cognitive abilities that interfere with mood, reason, judgment and language. The main neuropathological hallmarks of the disorder are β-amyloid (βA) plaques and neurofibrillary Tau tangles. Triple transgenic 3. ×. TgAD mouse model develops βA and Tau pathologies in a progressive manner, with a specific temporal and anatomic profile mimicking the pattern that takes place in the human brain with AD, and showing cognitive alterations characteristic of the disease. Environmental enrichment treatment in mice induces behavioral and emotional reactivity changes, including cognitive improvements in some AD-related transgenic mice. The present work intended to characterize the behavioral profile of 3. ×. TgAD mice at advanced stages of neuropathological development (12 and 15 months of age) and to investigate whether environmental enrichment administered during adulthood was able to modify some of their behavioral and cognitive alterations. Results show that, at advanced stages of the disease 3. ×. TgAD mice show deficits of spatial learning acquisition, as well as short-term and working memory deficits, while displaying increased levels of anxiety/fearfulness and normal sensorimotor functions. 3. ×. TgAD mice also show sexual dimorphism, as reflected by increased cognitive deficits in females and increased levels of novelty-induced behavioral inhibition in males. Environmental enrichment exerts some slight positive effects, by mainly improving the initial acquisition of the spatial learning and working memory in 12-month-old 3. ×. TgAD mice. Such effects vary depending on the gender. © 2014 Elsevier B.V.
KW - Aged 3×TgAD mice
KW - Alzheimer's disease model
KW - Anxiety
KW - Environmental enrichment
KW - Learning and memory
KW - Sexual dimorphism
U2 - 10.1016/j.bbr.2014.04.008
DO - 10.1016/j.bbr.2014.04.008
M3 - Article
VL - 268
SP - 185
EP - 201
JO - Behavioural Brain Research
JF - Behavioural Brain Research
SN - 0166-4328
ER -