Sensory network dysfunction, behavioral impairments, and their reversibility in an Alzheimer's β-amyloidosis mouse model

J Neurosci. 2011 Nov 2;31(44):15962-71. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2085-11.2011.

Abstract

The unique vulnerability of the olfactory system to Alzheimer's disease (AD) provides a quintessential translational tool for understanding mechanisms of synaptic dysfunction and pathological progression in the disease. Using the Tg2576 mouse model of β-amyloidosis, we show that aberrant, hyperactive olfactory network activity begins early in life, before detectable behavioral impairments or comparable hippocampal dysfunction and at a time when amyloid-β (Aβ) deposition is restricted to the olfactory bulb (OB). Hyperactive odor-evoked activity in the piriform cortex (PCX) and increased OB-PCX functional connectivity emerged at a time coinciding with olfactory behavior impairments. This hyperactive activity persisted until later in life when the network converted to a hyporesponsive state. This conversion was Aβ-dependent, because liver-X receptor agonist treatment to promote Aβ degradation rescued the hyporesponsive state and olfactory behavior. These data lend evidence to a novel working model of olfactory dysfunction in AD and, complimentary to other recent works, suggest that disease-relevant network dysfunction is highly dynamic and region specific, yet with lasting effects on cognition and behavior.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

  • Alzheimer Disease / complications*
  • Alzheimer Disease / genetics
  • Amyloid beta-Peptides / metabolism
  • Amyloid beta-Protein Precursor / genetics
  • Amyloidosis / etiology*
  • Amyloidosis / genetics
  • Amyloidosis / metabolism*
  • Animals
  • Behavioral Symptoms / etiology*
  • Behavioral Symptoms / genetics
  • Benzoates / pharmacology
  • Benzothiazoles
  • Benzylamines / pharmacology
  • Brain Waves / genetics
  • Brain Waves / physiology
  • Cerebral Cortex / drug effects
  • Cerebral Cortex / physiopathology
  • Disease Models, Animal
  • Electroencephalography
  • Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay / methods
  • Fourier Analysis
  • Habituation, Psychophysiologic / genetics
  • Humans
  • Mice
  • Mice, Transgenic
  • Odorants
  • Olfactory Pathways / pathology
  • Sensation Disorders / etiology*
  • Sensation Disorders / genetics
  • Smell / genetics
  • Smell / physiology
  • Thiazoles / metabolism

Substances

  • Amyloid beta-Peptides
  • Amyloid beta-Protein Precursor
  • Benzoates
  • Benzothiazoles
  • Benzylamines
  • GW 3965
  • Thiazoles
  • thioflavin T