RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Plasticity in visual cortex is disrupted in a mouse model of tauopathy and neurodegeneration
JF bioRxiv
FD Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
SP 2020.11.02.365767
DO 10.1101/2020.11.02.365767
A1 Amalia Papanikolaou
A1 Fabio R. Rodrigues
A1 Joanna Holeniewska
A1 Keith Phillips
A1 Aman B. Saleem
A1 Samuel G. Solomon
YR 2020
UL http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2020/11/04/2020.11.02.365767.abstract
AB Neurodegeneration is a hallmark of many dementias and is thought to underlie a progressive impairment of neural plasticity. How neurodegeneration affects plasticity in neural circuits is not known. We therefore characterised the impact of tau-driven neurodegeneration on plasticity in the visual system, where normal function is well understood. We studied a very simple form of visual plasticity that allowed us to track both long timescales (across days) and shorter timescales (over minutes). We recorded the local field potential in the primary visual cortex of rTg4510 transgenic mice, a mouse model of tauopathy, while animals were repeatedly exposed to the same stimulus over the course of 9 days. We studied animals at early stages of neurodegeneration (5 months old) and at a more advanced stage where pathology is evident (8 months). We found that both short- and long-term visual plasticity were already disrupted at early stages of neurodegeneration, and were further reduced in older animals, such that it was abolished in mice expressing the mutant tau. Additionally, we found that visually evoked behaviours were disrupted in both younger and older mice expressing the mutant tau. Our results show that visual cortical plasticity and visually evoked behaviours are disrupted in the rTg4510 model of tauopathy, even at early stages of neurodegeneration. This simple measure of neural plasticity may help understand how neurodegeneration disrupts neural circuits, and offers a translatable platform for detection and tracking of the disease.HighlightsVisual plasticity is disrupted at early stages of neurodegeneration in rTg4510 miceVisual plasticity is reduced in older animals, particularly during neurodegenerationInstinctive visual behaviours are reduced in neurodegenerationShort-term visual plasticity is reduced in neurodegenerationCompeting Interest StatementThe authors have declared no competing interest.