Isolation housing exacerbates Alzheimer’s Disease phenotype in aged APP KI mice

Our study reveals mixed results. Results indicate that at before isolation, at the age of 16 and 24 months, APP and APP mice do not differ to a significant extent on both the behavioural level. The APP differentiated slightly worse between the conditioned context and a new context compared to the APP mice. However, the difference appeared to be more pronounced after a period of social isolation. Social isolation had distinct effects on the AD-related anxiogenic and dementia-like phenotype. Spatial learning in the MWM task revealed distinct differences between our two models. After isolation APP mice used less spatial search strategies, compared to control mice, thus reflecting perseveration and less behavioural flexibility due to the isolation period.