Paper: Acquisition and reversal of visual learning in CVN mice

Peer-reviewed paper on how touchscreen testing is a translational tool to assess cognitive function in a mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease…

Studies of cognitive behavior in rodent models of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) are the mainstay of academic and industrial efforts to find effective treatments for this disorder. However, in the majority of such studies, the nature of rodent behavioral tests is considerably different from the setting associated with cognitive assessments of individuals with AD. The recently developed touchscreen technique provides a more translational way of rodent cognitive testing because the stimulus (images in different locations on the screen) and reaction (touch) are similar to those employed in human test routines. Here, we used Visual Discrimination and Reversal of Visual Discrimination touchscreen tasks to assess cognitive performance of APPSwDI/Nos2−/− (CVN) mice, which express mutated human APP and have a homozygous deletion of the Nos2 gene.