AGE-RELATED CHANGES IN MOTOR ABILITY AND MOTOR LEARNING IN TRIPLE TRANSGENIC (3×TG-AD) AND CONTROL (B6129SF1/J) MICE ON THE ACCELERATING ROTAROD

Abstract

Student Award-Winning PaperMouse models of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) show both cognitive and neuromotor impairments. We measured motor ability and motor learning of male and female triple transgenic (3×Tg-AD) and control (B6129SF1/J) mice on the accelerating Rotarod in a cross-sectional design at 2, 6, 9, 12, and 15 months of age. At all ages except for 2 months, transgenic mice performed better and had a steeper motor learning curve than controls. Female mice showed better motor performance than males, while males had a steeper learning curve than females. Age did not have a significant main effect on Rotarod performance. However, age and genotype showed an interaction, where the performance of 3×Tg-AD mice peaked at 6 months of age and decreased as age increased. The performance of controls was below that of 3×Tg-AD mice at each age. Behavioural differences seen in the 3×Tg-AD mice may help us to understand the development of neuromotor dysfunction in AD.Keywords: Alzheimer’s disease, Alzheimer models, Amyloid beta, motor ability, motor learning, Rotarod, tau, transgenic, 3×Tg-AD mice