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Review
. 2022 Jun 23:16:868473.
doi: 10.3389/fnbeh.2022.868473. eCollection 2022.

Inbred Mice Again at Stake: How the Cognitive Profile of the Wild-Type Mouse Background Discloses Pathogenic Effects of APP Mutations

Martine Ammassari-Teule  1   2
Affiliations
Review

Inbred Mice Again at Stake: How the Cognitive Profile of the Wild-Type Mouse Background Discloses Pathogenic Effects of APP Mutations

Martine Ammassari-Teule. Front Behav Neurosci. .

Abstract

Increasing efforts have been made in the last decades to increase the face validity of Alzheimer's disease (AD) mouse models. Main advancements have consisted in generating AD mutations closer to those identified in humans, enhancing genetic diversity of wild-type backgrounds, and choosing protocols much apt to reveal AD-like cognitive dysfunctions. Nevertheless, two aspects remain less considered: the cognitive specialization of inbred strains used as recipient backgrounds of mutations and the heuristic importance of studying destabilization of memory circuits in pre-symptomatic mice facing cognitive challenges. This article underscores the relevance of these behavioral/experimental aspects by reviewing data which show that (i) inbred mice differ in their innate predisposition to rely on episodic vs. procedural memory, which implicates differential sensitivity to mutations aimed at disrupting temporal lobe-dependent memory, and that (ii) investigating training-driven neural alterations in asymptomatic mutants unveils early synaptic damage, which considerably anticipates detection of AD first signs.

Keywords: AD-related mutations; cognitive challenges; cognitive profile; genetic background; inbred mice.

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Conflict of interest statement

The author declares that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

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