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The Auditory Brainstem Response Diagnoses Alzheimer-Like Disease in the 5xFAD Mouse Model
Daxiang Na, Yidan Yang, Li Huitong Xie, Dorota Piekna‐Przybylska, Dominic Bunn, Maleelo Shamambo, Patricia M. White. eNeuro, 2025-04-01
Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis
Early and accurate diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease (AD) will be key for effective personalized treatment plans ( Cummings, 2023). Significant difficulties in auditory processing have been frequently reported in many patients with mild cognitive impairment, the prodromal form of AD ( Tarawneh et al., 2022), making it an outstanding candidate as AD diagnostic biomarker. However, the efficiency of diagnosis with this parameter has not been explored. Here we show that when male mice with amyloidosis begin to show memory decline, changes in the auditory brainstem response (ABR) to clicks enable the reliable diagnosis of disease using a machine learning algorithm. Interpretation of the machine learning diagnosis revealed that the upper levels of the auditory pathway, including the inferior colliculus, were the probable sources of the defects. Histological analyses show that in these locations, neuroinflammation and plaque deposition temporally correlate with behavioral changes consistent with memory loss. While these findings are tempered by the caveat that they derive from amyloidosis mice, we propose that ABR measurements be evaluated as an additional rapid, low-cost, noninvasive biomarker to assist the diagnostic testing of early-stage AD.
Key findings
- Significant difficulties in auditory processing have been frequently reported in many patients with mild cognitive impairment, the prodromal form of AD ( Tarawneh et al., 2022), making it an outstanding candidate as AD diagnostic biomarker.
- Interpretation of the machine learning diagnosis revealed that the upper levels of the auditory pathway, including the inferior colliculus, were the probable sources of the defects.
- While these findings are tempered by the caveat that they derive from amyloidosis mice, we propose that ABR measurements be evaluated as an additional rapid, low-cost, noninvasive biomarker to assist the diagnostic testing of early-stage AD.
Why it matters
In male amyloidosis mice, changes in the auditory brainstem response allowed a machine learning algorithm to detect disease when memory decline appeared. The authors note the findings come from amyloidosis mice and propose the measure be evaluated as a diagnostic biomarker, not a treatment.
Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 34/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (eNeuro) |
| Journal's citation record | 1 / 4 | ENeuro: journal h-index 91 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 4 / 5 | 2025 — within 3 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Laboratory or animal study (title names “5xfad”) — scores zero |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 1 / 7 | Cited 2 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 0 / 5 | 0.7 citations a year over 3 year(s) since 2025 |
| Impact for its field and year | 2 / 6 | Cited 1.1× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 0 / 6 | No other study in this library cites it |
| Still being cited | 0 / 4 | Cited 2 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 2 / 4 | Last-listed author Patricia M. White: h-index 32 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 1 / 3 | University of Rochester: institution h-index 1,195 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 1 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 3 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 40199587) |
| Free to read | 2 / 2 | Free to read |
| Total | 34 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
Full text: free to read — OpenAlex lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 6 Feb 1020).
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. The record names 7 authors; APA and Vancouver show the first six, BibTeX and the downloads carry all of them. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Na, D., Yang, Y., Xie, L. H., Piekna‐Przybylska, D., Bunn, D., Shamambo, M., et al. (2025). The Auditory Brainstem Response Diagnoses Alzheimer-Like Disease in the 5xFAD Mouse Model. eNeuro. https://doi.org/10.1523/eneuro.0049-25.2025
Vancouver
Na D, Yang Y, Xie LH, Piekna‐Przybylska D, Bunn D, Shamambo M, et al. The Auditory Brainstem Response Diagnoses Alzheimer-Like Disease in the 5xFAD Mouse Model. eNeuro. 2025. doi:10.1523/eneuro.0049-25.2025. PMID: 40199587.
BibTeX
@article{na2025-40199587,
author = {Na, Daxiang and Yang, Yidan and Xie, Li Huitong and Piekna‐Przybylska, Dorota and Bunn, Dominic and Shamambo, Maleelo and White, Patricia M.},
title = {{The Auditory Brainstem Response Diagnoses Alzheimer-Like Disease in the 5xFAD Mouse Model}},
journal = {eNeuro},
year = {2025},
doi = {10.1523/eneuro.0049-25.2025},
pmid = {40199587},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1523/eneuro.0049-25.2025}
}
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