Motor activity in young APP swe + PS1 /A246E bigenic mice as a predicting variable for memory decline

Reports of individuality in rodent species have been a subject of debate in pharmacology and other fields. In the current study, APP swe  +  PS1 /A246E bigenic mice with Alzheimer's‐like pathogenesis and wild‐type controls were subdivided at 3 months of age into low, intermediate, and high responders in open‐field activity. The mice were then evaluated longitudinally at 3 and 9 months for object recognition. Irrespective of genotype, mice with a high level of motor activity had better scores in object recognition. However, a significant correlation was established between open‐field activity measured at 3 months of age and recognition memory measured at 9 months of age in the bigenic group only. These results indicate that motor activity in young mice with amyloid neuropathology may serve as a predicting variable for cognitive dysfunction in more mature mice. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.