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01-12-2016 | Original Article

Attentional function and basal forebrain cholinergic neuron morphology during aging in the Ts65Dn mouse model of Down syndrome

Authors: Brian E. Powers, Ramon Velazquez, Christy M. Kelley, Jessica A. Ash, Myla S. Strawderman, Melissa J. Alldred, Stephen D. Ginsberg, Elliott J. Mufson, Barbara J. Strupp

Published in: Brain Structure and Function | Issue 9/2016

Abstract

Individuals with Down syndrome (DS) exhibit intellectual disability and develop Alzheimer’s disease-like neuropathology during the third decade of life. The Ts65Dn mouse model of DS exhibits key features of both disorders, including impairments in learning, attention and memory, as well as atrophy of basal forebrain cholinergic neurons (BFCNs). The present study evaluated attentional function in relation to BFCN morphology in young (3 months) and middle-aged (12 months) Ts65Dn mice and disomic (2N) controls. Ts65Dn mice exhibited attentional dysfunction at both ages, with greater impairment in older trisomics. Density of BFCNs was significantly lower for Ts65Dn mice independent of age, which may contribute to attentional dysfunction since BFCN density was positively associated with performance on an attention task. BFCN volume decreased with age in 2N but not Ts65Dn mice. Paradoxically, BFCN volume was greater in older trisomic mice, suggestive of a compensatory response. In sum, attentional dysfunction occurred in both young and middle-aged Ts65Dn mice, which may in part reflect reduced density and/or phenotypic alterations in BFCNs.

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Title: Attentional function and basal forebrain cholinergic neuron morphology during aging in the Ts65Dn mouse model of Down syndrome
Authors: Brian E. Powers
Ramon Velazquez
Christy M. Kelley
Jessica A. Ash
Myla S. Strawderman
Melissa J. Alldred
Stephen D. Ginsberg
Elliott J. Mufson
Barbara J. Strupp
Publication date: 01-12-2016
Publisher: Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Published in: Brain Structure and Function / Issue 9/2016
Print ISSN: 1863-2653
Electronic ISSN: 1863-2661
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00429-015-1164-y

At a glance: The STEP trials

Springer Medicine

Attentional function and basal forebrain cholinergic neuron morphology during aging in the Ts65Dn mouse model of Down syndrome

Abstract

At a glance: The STEP trials

Springer Medicine

Abstract

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