AN ALTERNATIVE ANIMAL MODEL FOR COGNITIVE INVESTIGATIONS MAY HELP UNCOVER THE ROLE OF THE LOCUS COERULEUS IN TRIGGERING PRECLINICAL DYSFUNCTIONS IN PARKINSON’S DISEASE

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is characterized by progressive loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNpc) followed by motor symptoms, but the non-motor symptoms (NMS) have been under investigation which include olfactory loss of function, depression, anxiety and cognitive decline. Patients with PD shows Locus coeruleus (LC) degeneration in the early stages, impairing the release of norepinephrine in the hippocampus (HPc), modifying the postsynaptic density protein 95 (PSD-95) function, which is essential to learning and memory process.