To further study the relationship between wild-type disSOD1 pathology and nigral dopamine neuron health and function, we engineered a novel mouse strain expressing biochemical changes observed in the Parkinson disease SNc that we believe underlie the development of this pathology; decreased central nervous system (CNS) copper levels and increased wild-type SOD1 protein expression [88]. The gene discussed is SOD1; the disease is Parkinson disease.