title: Faster forgetting contributes to impaired spatial memory in the PDAPP mouse: deficit in memory retrieval associated with increased sensitivity to interference?
abstract: Two experiments were conducted to investigate the possibility of faster forgetting by PDAPP mice (a well-established model of Alzheimer's disease as reported by Games and colleagues in an earlier paper). Experiment 1, using mice aged 13-16 mo, confirmed the presence of a deficit in a spatial reference memory task in the water maze by hemizygous PDAPP mice relative to littermate controls. However, after overtraining to a criterion of equivalent navigational performance, a series of memory retention tests revealed faster forgetting in the PDAPP group. Very limited retraining was sufficient to reinstate good memory in both groups, indicating that their faster forgetting may be due to retrieval failure rather than trace decay. In Experiment 2, 6-mo-old PDAPP and controls were required to learn each of a series of spatial locations to criterion with their memory assessed 10 min after learning each location. No memory deficit was apparent in the PDAPP mice initially, but a deficit built up through the series of locations suggestive of increased sensitivity to interference. Faster forgetting and increased interference may each reflect a difficulty in accessing memory traces. This interpretation of one aspect of the cognitive deficit in human mutant APP mice has parallels to deficits observed in patients with Alzheimer's disease, further supporting the validity of transgenic models of the disease.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Cognitive and Neural Systems University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH8 9JZ, Scotland. sdaumas@staffmail.ed.ac.uk
authors.forename: Stephanie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Daumas
authors.forename: Johan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sandin
authors.forename: Karen S
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Dione
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kobayashi
authors.forename: Jane
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tulloch
authors.forename: Stephen J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Martin
authors.forename: Dora
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Games
authors.forename: Richard G M
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: Morris
mesh_terms: D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D016564:Amyloid beta-Protein Precursor / Q000235:genetics; D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D018782:Maze Learning / Q000502:physiology; D008568:Memory / Q000502:physiology*; D051379:Mice; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D013037:Spatial Behavior / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D016564:Amyloid beta-Protein Precursor
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