Hyperactivity In Reticular Thalamic Nucleus Drives Autism-like Behaviors In Mice

Stanford Medicine scientists investigating nan neurological underpinnings of autism spectrum upset person recovered that hyperactivity successful a circumstantial encephalon region could thrust behaviors commonly associated pinch nan disorder.

Using a rodent exemplary of nan disease, nan researchers identified nan reticular thalamic nucleus - which serves arsenic a gatekeeper of sensory accusation betwixt nan thalamus and cortex - arsenic a imaginable target for treatments.

Moreover, they were capable to reverse symptoms akin to those of autism - including susceptibility to seizures, heightened sensitivity to stimulus, accrued centrifugal activity, repetitive behaviors and decreased societal interactions - by giving nan mice narcotics that suppressed this area of nan brain.

The aforesaid narcotics are being studied for nan curen of epilepsy, highlighting wherever nan processes underlying autism spectrum disorders and epilepsy whitethorn overlap successful nan encephalon and why they often hap successful nan aforesaid patients.

The findings will beryllium published Aug. 20 successful Science Advances. The elder writer of nan study is John Huguenard, PhD, professor of neurology and neurological sciences. The lead writer is Sung-Soo Jang, PhD, a postdoctoral clever clever successful neurology and neurological sciences.

The neural circuitry connecting nan thalamus and cortex has been implicated successful autism successful some humans and animal models, but nan domiciled of nan reticular thalamic nucleus was not clear.

In nan caller study, nan researchers recorded nan neural activity of this encephalon region successful mice while watching nan animals' behavior. In mice that had been genetically modified to exemplary autism (Cntnap2 knockout mice), nan reticular thalamic nucleus showed elevated activity erstwhile nan animals encountered stimuli for illustration ray aliases an aerial puff arsenic good arsenic during societal interactions. The encephalon region besides showed bursts of spontaneous activity, causing seizures.

Epilepsy is overmuch much prevalent successful group pinch autism than successful nan wide organization - 30% versus 1% - though nan mechanisms are not good understood. Recognizing this connection, nan researchers tested an experimental seizure drug, Z944, and recovered that it reversed behavioral deficits successful nan autism rodent model.

With a different experimental curen that genetically modifies neurons to respond to designer drugs, known arsenic DREADD-based neuromodulation, nan researchers could suppress overactivity successful nan reticular thalamic nucleus and reverse behavioral deficits successful nan autism rodent model. They could moreover induce these behavioral deficits successful normal mice by ramping up activity successful nan reticular thalamic nucleus.

The caller findings item nan reticular thalamic nucleus arsenic a caller target for nan curen of autism spectrum disorders.