Disrupted circuits in mouse models of autism spectrum disorder and intellectual disability. (February 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Golden, Carla EM; Buxbaum, Joseph D; De Rubeis, Silvia
• Is Part Of: Current opinion in neurobiology. Volume 48(2018)
• Page Start: 106
• Page End: 112
• Publication Date: 2018-02
• Subjects: Neurobiology -- Periodicals; 573.8
• DOI: 10.1016/j.conb.2017.11.006
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0959-4388

Abstract

Highlights: Mouse models of autism and intellectual disability display circuit-level alterations. These deficits link genetic disruptions to behavioral phenotypes. Phenotypes can be reversed with stimulation and drugs targeting these circuits. Abstract : Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and intellectual disability (ID) are caused by a wide range of genetic mutations, a significant fraction of which reside in genes important for synaptic function. Studies have found that sensory, prefrontal, hippocampal, cerebellar, and striatal regions, as well as the circuits that connect them, are perturbed in mouse models of ASD and ID. Dissecting the disruptions in morphology and activity in these neural circuits might help us to understand the shared risk between the two disorders as well as their clinical heterogeneity. Treatments that target the balance between excitation and inhibition in these regions are able to reverse pathological phenotypes, elucidating this deficit as a commonality across models and opening new avenues for intervention.