Social factors and Alzheimer’s disease: Navigating this two-way street using mouse models

Alzheimer's Disease (AD) is the most common cause of dementia. Multiple factors can contribute to the development of this disorder, including genetics predispositions, activity levels, diet, and stress. There is increasing evidence that social factors (including experiencing loneliness, social support, and the quantity and quality of social interactions) can contribute to the risk to develop several neurological and psychiatric disorders, including AD.

Genetic mouse models can be used to study the underlying brain changes (pathology) of AD patients, providing insights into the disease's mechanism. Like humans, mice are social animals. Thus, we have studied the relationship between social factors and AD, using AD mouse models. In our research, we have investigated the effect of the social environment (group size and group composition) on AD pathology. Additionally, we have investigated the effect of the presence of the AD-related brain changes on the social behavior of the mice. Our results show that the social environment can play an important role in the disease progression of AD. In addition, we show that during an early stage, AD mice display altered social behavior compared to healthy mice. In conclusion, our findings suggest that the social environment can play an important role in the development and detection of AD. Furthermore, social interventions in AD patients may alter the disease progression.