| First Author | Middei S | Year | 2008 |
| Journal | Neurobiol Learn Mem | Volume | 90 |
| Issue | 2 | Pages | 467-71 |
| PubMed ID | 18515161 | Mgi Jnum | J:154431 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:4367982 | Doi | 10.1016/j.nlm.2008.04.008 |
| Citation | Middei S, et al. (2008) Region-specific changes in the microanatomy of single dendritic spines over time might account for selective memory alterations in ageing hAPPsweTg2576 mice, a mouse model for Alzheimer disease. Neurobiol Learn Mem 90(2):467-71 |
| abstractText | Tg2576 mice over-expressing human mutant APP (hAPPswe) show progressive impairments in hippocampal plasticity and episodic memory while fronto-striatal plasticity and procedural memory remain intact. Here we examine the status of synaptic connectivity in the hippocampus and the dorsolateral striatum (DLS) of 3- and 15-month-old Tg2576 and wild-type mice through the analysis of single dendritic spines microanatomy. We found that, in each region, all mice showed a global reduction in the size of spines as a function of age. Ageing mutants, however, exhibited smaller spines with shorter necks on CA1 pyramidal neurons but larger spines with longer necks on DLS spiny neurons compared to their age-matched wild-type controls. Our findings indicate that hippocampal and DLS dendritic spines in hAPPswe mutants undergo a different pattern of morphological changes over time and point to minor alterations in the microanatomy of DLS spines as a compensatory mechanism maintaining procedural abilities in the ageing mutants. |
