Environmental enrichment improves cognition in aged Alzheimer's transgenic mice despite stable beta-amyloid deposition (2004)

Abstract

Environmental enrichment (EE) has been shown to improve cognitive performance and brain indices of cognition in normal mice and rats. .. Beginning at 16 months of age, APPsw mice were put into EE or standard housing for 4 months and then tested in four cognitive-based tasks (Morris maze, circular platform, platform recognition, and radial arm water maze) between 20 and 22 months of age. Our results indicate that long-term EE of aged APPsw mice results in global, overall improvement in cognitive function across these tasks without decreasing brain beta-amyloid (A beta) deposition.