Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41550754›Full record

ArticleiScience2026

Early-life cognitive intervention preserves brain function in aged TgF344-AD rats with sex-specific effects.

Julia Casanova-Pagola, Federico Varriano, Xavier López-Gil, Genís Campoy-Campos, Enric Abellí-Deulofeu, Clara García-González, Elisa López-Bravo, Raúl Tudela, Emma Muñoz-Moreno, Fernando Aguado and 4 more

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in iScience, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

14 authors.

Julia Casanova-PagolaBrain Connectivity and Neuroimaging Lab, Institute of Neurosciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Barcelona, Carrer de Casanova 143, 08036 Barcelona, Spain.
Federico VarrianoBrain Connectivity and Neuroimaging Lab, Institute of Neurosciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Barcelona, Carrer de Casanova 143, 08036 Barcelona, Spain.
Xavier López-GilIDIBAPS, Magnetic Resonance Imaging Core Facility, Carrer del Rosselló 149-153, 08036 Barcelona, Spain.
Genís Campoy-CamposBiomedicine Department, Institute of Neurosciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Barcelona, Carrer de Casanova 143, 08036 Barcelona, Spain.
Enric Abellí-DeulofeuBrain Connectivity and Neuroimaging Lab, Institute of Neurosciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Barcelona, Carrer de Casanova 143, 08036 Barcelona, Spain.
Clara García-GonzálezBrain Connectivity and Neuroimaging Lab, Institute of Neurosciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Barcelona, Carrer de Casanova 143, 08036 Barcelona, Spain.
Elisa López-BravoBrain Connectivity and Neuroimaging Lab, Institute of Neurosciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Barcelona, Carrer de Casanova 143, 08036 Barcelona, Spain.
Raúl TudelaCIBER de Bioingeniería, Biomateriales y Nanomedicina, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Avenida Monforte de Lemos 3-5, 28029 Madrid, Spain.
Emma Muñoz-MorenoIDIBAPS, Magnetic Resonance Imaging Core Facility, Carrer del Rosselló 149-153, 08036 Barcelona, Spain.
Fernando AguadoDepartment of Cell Biology, Physiology and Immunology, Biology Faculty, University of Barcelona, Carrer Diagonal 643, 08028 Barcelona, Spain.
Alberto Prats-GalinoLaboratory of Surgical Neuroanatomy (LSNA), Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
Laura Molina-PorcelAlzheimer's Disease and Other Cognitive Disorders Unit, Neurology Service, Hospital Clínic, I Fundació de Recerca Clínic Barcelona-Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (FRCB-IDIBAPS) and University of Barcelona, Carrer del Rosselló 149-153, 08036 Barcelona, Spain.
Cristina MalageladaBiomedicine Department, Institute of Neurosciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Barcelona, Carrer de Casanova 143, 08036 Barcelona, Spain.
Guadalupe SoriaBrain Connectivity and Neuroimaging Lab, Institute of Neurosciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Barcelona, Carrer de Casanova 143, 08036 Barcelona, Spain.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Alzheimer's disease is characterized by progressive cognitive decline, and its effects are mitigated by cognitive reserve. We investigated whether long-term cognitive stimulation, initiated before amyloid deposition, preserves brain function in male and female TgF344-AD rats. Transgenic and wild-type (WT) rats underwent cognitive training or remained untrained. Resting-state fMRI assessed functional connectivity, the novel object recognition test evaluated memory, and molecular analyses examined synaptic plasticity, inhibitory signaling, and microglial reactivity. At baseline, females showed greater task engagement and higher synaptic protein levels (PSD95, TrkB, and VGLUT) than males. Cognitive training improved connectivity and memory in males, with limited benefits in females. At 19 months, trained transgenic rats maintained entorhinal-hippocampal connectivity resembling WT rats, with males showing sustained plasticity markers and reduced parvalbumin-positive interneurons. Trained 11-month-old rats showed enhanced microglial recruitment to plaques and a less reactive phenotype. Overall, early and sustained cognitive stimulation enhances brain resilience, with sex-specific mechanisms shaping outcomes.

Indexed as

Cellular neuroscienceCognitive neuroscienceMolecular neuroscience

Identifiers

PMID41550754
PMCPMC12804168

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.