Abnormalities in whisking behaviour are associated with lesions in brain stem nuclei in a mouse model of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
The transgenic SOD1(G93A) mouse is a model of human amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and recapitulates many of the pathological hallmarks observed in humans, including motor neuron degeneration in the brain and the spinal cord. In mice, neurodegeneration particularly impacts on the facial nuclei in the brainstem. Motor neurons innervating the whisker pad muscles originate in the facial nucleus of the brain stem, with contractions of these muscles giving rise to "whisking" one of the fastest movements performed by mammals. A longitudinal study was conducted on SOD1(G93A) mice and wild-type litter mate controls, comparing: (i) whisker movements using high-speed video recordings and automated whisker tracking, and (ii) facial nucleus degeneration using MRI. Results indicate that while whisking still occurs in SOD1(G93A) mice and is relatively resistant to neurodegeneration, there are significant disruptions to certain whisking behaviours, which correlate with facial nuclei lesions, and may be as a result of specific facial muscle degeneration. We propose that measures of mouse whisker movement could potentially be used in tandem with measures of limb dysfunction as biomarkers of disease onset and progression in ALS mice and offers a novel method for testing the efficacy of novel therapeutic compounds.
Division of Biology and Conservation Ecology, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, UK. Electronic address: robyn.grant@mmu.ac.uk.
Robyn A
RA
Grant
Department of Psychology, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK; Department of Neuroscience, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK.
Paul S
PS
Sharp
Department of Psychology, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK.
Aneurin J
AJ
Kennerley
Department of Psychology, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK.
Jason
J
Berwick
Department of Neuroscience, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK.
Andrew
A
Grierson
Department of Neuroscience, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK. Electronic address: t.tamesh@sheffield.ac.uk.
Tennore
T
Ramesh
Department of Psychology, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK. Electronic address: t.j.prescott@sheffield.ac.uk.
Tony J
TJ
Prescott
D000367:Age Factors; D000690:Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D001933:Brain Stem / Q000473:pathology*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D018450:Disease Progression; D003576:Electron Transport Complex IV / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D008124:Locomotion / Q000235:genetics; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D051379:Mice; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D053580:Muscle Strength / Q000235:genetics; D013482:Superoxide Dismutase / Q000235:genetics; D013997:Time Factors; D014738:Vibrissae / Q000294:innervation* / Q000502:physiology
C109415:SOD1 G93A protein; D013482:Superoxide Dismutase; D003576:Electron Transport Complex IV
Active sensing; Facial nucleus; Motor neuron disease; SOD1 mouse; Vibrissae