Cell save: Deleting one copy of TSC1 in only Purkinje cells (red) reduces activity in those cells and alters social behavior in mice; a brief treatment with rapamycin seems to block these effects.Courtesy of Peter Tsai Briefly suppressing an overactive signaling pathway in juvenile mice that have an autism-linked mutation blocks them from developing some […]
Sex differences: Male model mice raised in enriched environments had less severe behavioral problems than their female peers. Photography by Richard Drury Angelman syndrome model mice have fewer-than-expected behavioral and motor problems if they grow up in a stimulating enclosure, filled with toys and other enrichments, according to a new study. The mice are missing […]
Pruning: Neurons from mice lacking one copy of ASH1L (third row) do not prune away as many synapses (bottom row) as control neurons (top and second rows) after stimulation. Loss of the autism-related gene ASH1L leads to excess synapses and autism-like behaviors in mice, according to a study published today in Neuron. Increasing the activity […]
Social Boost: In a mouse model with impaired social behavior, an oxytocin injection activates a specific set of circuits. publisher’s Note This article was originally published as Conference Proceedings from the 2021 Society for Neuroscience Global Connectome Meeting on January 13, 2021. The results have since been published in Neuron. Infusions of the hormone oxytocin […]
Boosting the Immune System: Changes in a mother mouse’s gut microbiome can induce an overactive immune response in her pups. IKELOS GmbH/Dr. Christopher B. Jackson/Science Source Pregnant mice that elicit an immune response have offspring with autism-like traits and an increased susceptibility to intestinal inflammation, according to a new study. The findings could help explain […]
Your browser does not support the video tag. Break Using a new line of mice that express a synaptic membrane receptor with a fluorescent tag, researchers have followed changes in the strength of the synapses in the brain over several days. The method could provide information about the altered synaptic function in people with autism […]
Stress test: high expression of the protein HOMER1A (1, green) exaggerated the loss of SHANK3 (2, pink) from synapses in stressed mice with a mutated copy of the SHANK3 gene. Stressful situations lead to social deficits in mice with a mutated copy of the autism-linked gene SHANK3, according to a new study. The elimination of […]
Your browser does not support the video tag. Break New software uses artificial intelligence to automatically identify and quantify certain types of social behavior in mice from videos of mice interacting in a cage – even animals with cables implanted to monitor their brain activity. The tool, called Mouse Action Recognition System (MARS), could speed […]
Big boost: A potential new gene therapy for Angelman syndrome results in expression of UBE3A throughout the mouse brain within days of a single injection. Courtesy Matt Judson / UNC Injection of a potential new gene therapy for Angelman syndrome prevents many of the key features of neurological development, according to early tests in mice. […]
Increased interest: SCN2A-deficient mice are more likely to socialize like control mice after a mutation in the gene has been corrected. Georgejason / iStock Treatments that counteract the effects of a mutation in an autism-related gene in mice increase the sociability of animals in adulthood, according to a new unpublished study. The researchers presented the […]
Eye spy: A new pupillometry tool called MEYE runs on every standard web browser. A new open source web app can measure changes in pupil size in both humans and mice as accurately as a commercial eye tracker can. The tool could help researchers standardize studies of pupillary differences in autistic people and in mouse […]
If repeated: Deletions of ASH1L cause excessive grooming in mice, which treatment with the cancer drug vorinostat is alleviated. Mark Bowler / Science Source A cancer drug that boosts gene expression reduces repetitive behaviors and improves memory and sociability in a mouse model of autism, according to a new study. However, the treatment did not […]
