Altered behavioral aspects of aged mice lacking the cellular prion protein.

The biological function of the prion protein, which is intimately involved in the onset of prion diseases, remains unclear. To understand whether the prion protein could play a role in animal behavior, a battery of tests was applied to young and aged mice that express, or not, the prion protein. In contrast to the similar results obtained in all young animals, we found that aged mice lacking the prion protein reacted to new and stressful environments differently than their wild-type counterparts. This may suggest that, upon aging, the absence of the prion protein results in altered neural processing at the basis of adaptation to new situations.