MAPT and Alzheimer disease: Furthermore, exposure to MeHg in mice was shown to induce hyperphosphorylation of tau at sites in the cerebral cortex consistent with the phosphorylation patterns observed in FTD and AD, while the distribution of phosphorylated tau corresponded with areas where the most substantial neuropathological changes occurred, i.e., there was a decrease in the number of neurons, an increase in the number of migratory astrocytes and microglia/macrophages, necrosis, and apoptosis [215].