Age-related deficits in working memory in 5xFAD mice in the Hebb-Williams maze

The 5xFAD mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease develop early and accelerated amyloid beta pathology due to the three mutations on the amyloid precursor protein and two mutations on the presenilin 1 gene. Both cognitive and motor deficits have been described in this model, however the relationship between these domains is unknown. One important question is, if the cognitive tests are confounded by the motor deficits. In this study, we tested male 5xFAD and wild type control mice on motor (rotarod) and memory (Hebb-Williams maze) tests and studied the relationship between the results, to see if the measures of cognitive decline are confounded by motor problems.