Scientific Reports· 2026Q1
Deep learning quantification of mouse nesting behavior for tracking cognitive decline in models of aging & Alzheimer’s disease
- 0citations
- Q1SCImago
- 2026year
Short summary
An AI pipeline called CozyScores, built on ResNet18, accurately quantifies mouse nesting behavior, distinguishing between young/old and wild-type/Alzheimer's model mice. At 4 hours, performance scores significantly differed by age and genotype, with Old AD mice scoring lowest (1.71 ± 0.14) compared to Young WT mice (3.80 ± 0.18).
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Key points
- An AI pipeline (CozyScores) using ResNet18 was developed to quantify mouse nesting behavior.
- Nesting performance scores differed significantly by age and genotype at 4 hours (P < 0.05).
- Old AD mice exhibited the lowest nesting scores (1.71 ± 0.14) compared to Young WT mice (3.80 ± 0.18).
- Nest scores declined in older mice (WT: 4.24, AD: 3.59) versus younger mice (WT: 4.60, AD: 4.33) at 24 hours.
- Males generally outperformed females in nest construction.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Abstract
Abstract The aging brain and development of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) are characterized by neurological degeneration. Nest-building performance captures deteriorating cognitive and motor functions in rodent models of AD; albeit qualitative while limited in physiological scope. To enhance sampling depth and frequency, we developed an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered image analysis pipeline (“CozyScores”) built on the ResNet18 architecture. In male & female C57BL6/J wild-type (WT) & 3xTg-AD mice (AD) mice [Young, 3–6 mo; WT, n = 28; AD, n = 32) & (Old, 21–26 mo; WT, n = 20; AD, n = 12)], we monitored progressive nest organization using photo acquisition across timepoints (0.5 to 24 h) relative to baseline on a 5-point scoring system. At the 4 h benchmark timepoint, a significant ( P < 0.05) difference in performance scores was detected as a function of age and genotype [Young WT (mean ± SEM, 3.80 ± 0.18) > Young AD (3.16 ± 0.24) > Old WT (3.08 ± 0.32) > Old AD (1.71 ± 0.14)]. At 24 h, maximum performance scores declined in Old (WT: 4.24 ± 0.13; AD: 3.59 ± 0.35) versus Young (WT: 4.60 ± 0.05; AD: 4.33 ± 0.13) groups. Males generally performed better than females throughout groups, particularly during nest construction (2 to 8 h). Overall, CozyScores is an automated, high-resolution analysis of behavioral kinetics in mouse models of aging and AD.
The authors' abstract, as published at the source. Scientific Reports, 2026 · DOI ↗
Continue with a free account
Ask the paper: 3 free questions a day about this paper; save it, get its citation, new summaries every day for your field. Takeaways are Premium.
Continue free on the webSign in with Google or Apple; no card needed. You come back to this paper.
On your phone:
Field: Developmental Neuroscience
Developmental NeuroscienceNeuroscience