Visual-discrimination learning ability and beta-amyloid accumulation in the dog

Neurobiol Aging. 1998 Sep-Oct;19(5):415-25. doi: 10.1016/s0197-4580(98)00084-0.

Abstract

Young, middle-aged, and old beagle dogs were tested on several visual-discrimination tasks: reward- and object-approach learning, object discrimination and reversal, long-term retention of a reversal problem, and a size-discrimination task. Beta-amyloid accumulation in the entorhinal, prefrontal, parietal, and occipital cortices was quantified using immunohistochemical and imaging techniques at the conclusion of cognitive testing. Middle-aged and old dogs were impaired in size-discrimination learning. In each task, a subset of aged dogs was impaired relative to age-matched peers. Beta-amyloid accumulation was age-dependent. However, not all middle-aged and old dogs showed beta-amyloid accumulation in the entorhinal cortex. The error scores from dogs tested with a nonpreferred object during visual discrimination learning and from reversal learning were correlated with beta-amyloid in the prefrontal but not entorhinal cortex. Size-discrimination and reward and object-approach learning error scores were correlated with beta-amyloid accumulation in the entorhinal but not prefrontal cortex. The results of these studies support an association between cognitive test and the location and extent of beta-amyloid pathology.

Publication types

  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Amyloid beta-Peptides / analysis*
  • Amyloid beta-Peptides / metabolism
  • Animals
  • Brain Chemistry / physiology*
  • Cognition / physiology
  • Discrimination Learning / physiology*
  • Dogs
  • Entorhinal Cortex / chemistry
  • Entorhinal Cortex / metabolism
  • Female
  • Form Perception / physiology
  • Male
  • Memory / physiology
  • Occipital Lobe / chemistry
  • Occipital Lobe / metabolism
  • Parietal Lobe / chemistry
  • Parietal Lobe / metabolism
  • Pattern Recognition, Visual / physiology*
  • Photic Stimulation
  • Prefrontal Cortex / chemistry
  • Prefrontal Cortex / metabolism
  • Reversal Learning / physiology
  • Reward

Substances

  • Amyloid beta-Peptides