Early Identification of Alzheimer’s Disease in Mouse Models: Application of Deep Neural Network Algorithm to Cognitive Behavioral Parameters

Summary Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a worldwide burden. Diagnosis is complicated by the fact that AD is asymptomatic at an early stage. Studies using AD-modelled animals offer important and useful insights. Here, we classified mice with a high risk of AD at a preclinical stage by using only their behaviors. Wild-type and knock-in AD-modelled (AppNL-G-F/NL-G-F) mice were raised, and their cognitive behaviors were assessed in an automated monitoring system. The classification utilized a machine learning method, i.e., a deep neural network, together with optimized stepwise feature selection and cross-validation. The AD risk could be identified on the basis of compulsive and learning behaviors (89.3 ± 9.8% accuracy) shown by AD-modelled mice in the early age (i.e., 8–12 months old) when the AD symptomatic cognitions were relatively underdeveloped. This finding reveals the advantage of machine learning in unveiling the importance of compulsive and learning behaviors for early AD diagnosis in mice.