(i) the physiological mechanisms underlying neurological disorders,
(ii) the functional modifications induced by genetic manipulation or chemical treatment, and
(iii) the efficacy of novel drugs in reversing phenotypes in disease models. This is particularly useful in the AD field, as the cardinal clinical hallmark of the disease is memory loss.
Furthermore, the ‘‘primum movens’’ of AD is still unknown. Thus, using cognition-based behavior as a readout can help avoid assumptions about the disease pathogenesis that might be disproved by future studies.
We usually perform the following behavioural tests established in our laboratory:
1) HINDLIMB CLASPING and LEDGE TESTS
for muscle function and motor coordination. These pre-cognitive tests exclude mice with alterations in vestibular function, thus minimizing possible undesirable effects in the mouse population selected for behavioral assessment.
2) OPEN FIELD
a simple sensorimotor test used to determine general activity levels, gross locomotor activity, and exploration habits in rodent models of CNS disorders.
3) Y-MAZE TEST
which measures the spatial working memory and is dependent on the integrity of the limbic and non-limbic pathways.
4) MORRIS WATER MAZE (MWM) TEST
which measures hippocampus-dependent spatial navigation and reference memory.
5) CONTEXTUAL FEAR CONDITIONING (CFC)
which is highly dependent on the function of the hippocampus and amygdala, but also the cortex.
