Sensory-Behavioral Deficits in Parkinson’s Disease: Insights from a 6-OHDA Mouse Model

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is characterized by the degeneration of dopaminergic neurons in the striatum, predominantly associated with motor symptoms. However, non-motor deficits, particularly sensory symptoms, often precede motor manifestations, offering a potential early diagnostic window. The impact of non-motor deficits on sensation behavior and the underlying mechanisms remains poorly understood. In this study, we examined changes in tactile sensation within a Parkinsonian state by employing a mouse model of PD induced by 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) to deplete striatal dopamine (DA). Leveraging the conserved mouse whisker system as a model for tactile-sensory stimulation, we conducted psychophysical experiments to assess sensory-driven behavioral performance during a tactile detection task in both the healthy and Parkinson-like states. Our findings reveal that DA depletion induces pronounced alterations in tactile sensation behavior, extending beyond expected motor impairments. We observed diverse behavioral deficits, spanning detection performance, task engagement, and reward accumulation, among lesioned individuals. While subjects with extreme DA depletion consistently showed severe sensory behavioral deficits, others with substantial DA depletion displayed minimal changes in sensory behavior performance. Moreover, some exhibited moderate degradation of behavioral performance, likely stemming from sensory signaling loss rather than motor impairment. The implementation of a sensory detection task is a promising approach to quantify the extent of impairments associated with DA depletion in the animal model. This facilitates the exploration of early non-motor deficits in PD, emphasizing the importance of incorporating sensory assessments in understanding the diverse spectrum of PD symptoms.