Bridging the translational divide: identical cognitive touchscreen testing in mice and humans carrying mutations in a disease-relevant homologous gene

J Nithianantharajah; A G McKechanie; T J Stewart; M Johnstone; D H Blackwood; D St Clair; S G N Grant; T J Bussey; L M Saksida

doi:10.1038/srep14613

Bridging the translational divide: identical cognitive touchscreen testing in mice and humans carrying mutations in a disease-relevant homologous gene

Sci Rep. 2015 Oct 1:5:14613. doi: 10.1038/srep14613.

Authors

J Nithianantharajah^{1

2}, A G McKechanie^{3

4}, T J Stewart⁴, M Johnstone⁴, D H Blackwood⁴, D St Clair⁵, S G N Grant^{1

2}, T J Bussey⁶, L M Saksida⁶

Affiliations

¹ Genes to Cognition Programme, Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Chancellors Building, 47 Little France Crescent, Edinburgh UK EH16 4SB.
² Genes to Cognition Programme, The Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Hinxton Cambridgeshire UK CB10 1SA.
³ The Patrick Wild Centre, University of Edinburgh, Royal Edinburgh Hospital, Edinburgh UK EH10 5HF.
⁴ Division of Psychiatry, University of Edinburgh, Royal Edinburgh Hospital, Edinburgh UK EH10 5HF.
⁵ Institute of Medical Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen UK AB25 2ZD.
⁶ Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge &The MRC and Wellcome Trust Behavioral and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge UK CB2 3EB.

Abstract

Development of effective therapies for brain disorders has been hampered by a lack of translational cognitive testing methods. We present the first example of using the identical touchscreen-based cognitive test to assess mice and humans carrying disease-related genetic mutations. This new paradigm has significant implications for improving how we measure and model cognitive dysfunction in human disorders in animals, thus bridging the gap towards effective translation to the clinic.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adult
Animals
Case-Control Studies
Cognition Disorders / diagnosis*
Cognition Disorders / genetics
DNA Copy Number Variations
Diagnosis, Computer-Assisted
Female
Guanylate Kinases / genetics*
Humans
Male
Mice, Inbred C57BL
Mice, Knockout
Middle Aged
Mutation
Photic Stimulation
Protein Biosynthesis
Schizophrenia / diagnosis
Schizophrenia / genetics
Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
Spatial Learning
Tumor Suppressor Proteins / genetics*
User-Computer Interface
Young Adult

Substances

Tumor Suppressor Proteins
DLG2 protein, human
Guanylate Kinases

Abstract

Publication types

MeSH terms

Substances

Grants and funding