title: In Vivo MRI Evidence that Neuropathology is Attenuated by Cognitive Enrichment in the Yac128 Huntington's Disease Mouse Model.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Environmental enrichment has been shown to improve symptoms and reduce neuropathology in mouse models of Huntington's disease (HD); however results are limited to ex vivo techniques with associated shortcomings. In-vivo magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can overcome some of the shortcomings and is applied for the first time here to assess the effect of a cognitive intervention in a mouse model of HD.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  We aimed to investigate whether in-vivo high-field MRI can detect a disease-modifying effect in tissue macrostructure following a cognitive enrichment regime.
  
  
  METHODS
  YAC128 transgenic and wild type mice were exposed to cognitive enrichment throughout their lifetime. At 20-months old, mice were scanned with a T2-weighted MRI sequence and a region-of-interest (ROI) approach was used to examine structural changes. Locomotor activity and performance on the rotarod and serial discrimination watermaze task were assessed to measure motor and cognitive function respectively.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Mice exposed to cognitive enrichment were more active and able to stay on a rotating rod longer compared to control mice, with comparable rotarod performance between HD enriched mice and wild-type mice. YAC128 mice demonstrated cognitive impairments which were not improved by cognitive enrichment. In-vivo MRI revealed a reduction in the degree of caudate-putamen atrophy in the enriched HD mice.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We provide in vivo evidence of a beneficial effect of environmental enrichment on neuropathology and motor function in a HD mouse model. This demonstrates the efficacy of MRI in a model of HD and provides the basis for an in-vivo non-destructive outcome measure necessary for longitudinal study designs to understand the effect of enrichment with disease progression.
authors.affiliation: Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre, School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Park Place, Cardiff, UK.
authors.forename: Jessica J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Steventon
authors.affiliation: Brain Repair Group, Life Science Building, 3rd Floor, School of Biosciences, Cardiff University, Museum Avenue, Cardiff, UK.
authors.forename: David J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Harrison
authors.affiliation: Brain Repair Group, Life Science Building, 3rd Floor, School of Biosciences, Cardiff University, Museum Avenue, Cardiff, UK.
authors.forename: Rebecca C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Trueman
authors.affiliation: Brain Repair Group, Life Science Building, 3rd Floor, School of Biosciences, Cardiff University, Museum Avenue, Cardiff, UK.
authors.forename: Anne E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Rosser
authors.affiliation: Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre, School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Park Place, Cardiff, UK.
authors.forename: Derek K
authors.initials: DK
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.affiliation: Brain Repair Group, Life Science Building, 3rd Floor, School of Biosciences, Cardiff University, Museum Avenue, Cardiff, UK.
authors.forename: Simon P
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Brooks
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004777:Environment; D005260:Female; D006816:Huntington Disease / Q000473:pathology* / Q000523:psychology*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D018782:Maze Learning / Q000502:physiology; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D009043:Motor Activity; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology; D045442:Rotarod Performance Test
keywords: Huntington’s Disease; cognitive enrichment; magnetic resonance imaging; mouse model