Overload of irrelevant information interferes with new learning in a mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease

Earlier studies have demonstrated that memory dysfunction during early Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is associated with an increased susceptibility to memory interference leading to confusion in landmarks, medication, objects etc. Results from behavioural experiments in Dr Karunakaran’s lab indicate that both 2-month-old male and female APPswe/PS1dE9 mice, a mouse model of AD, display intact object recognition memory. However, post weaning environmental enrichment (EE) leads to a decrease in discrimination of novel object from the familiar object by male but not female APP/PS1 mice. Crucially, it has been found that the memory impairment in APP/PS1 mice was not due to a lack of attention or disinterest in exploring objects, rather paradoxically, male mice who underwent EE demonstrated a decreased tendency to discriminate the familiar object from the novel object unlike their female counterpart.