Role of the cerebellum in the modulation of sociability in the mouse

ZAPPALA C; KAZLAUSKAS N; DEPINO AM

Mar del Plata

Congreso; XXX Congreso Anual de la Sociedad Argentina de Investigación en Neurociencias; 2015

Sociedad Argentina de Investigación en Neurociencias

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is group of complex disorders of brain development. These disorders are characterized, in varying degrees, by difficulties in social interaction, verbal and nonverbal communication and repetitive behaviors. The exact causes of these disordes remain unclear. Recently the cerebellum has emerged as one of the key brain regions affected in autism. To evaluate the role that the cerebellum plays in behaviors related to autism, we used a mouse model of ASD. Mice prenatally exposed to valproic acid (VPA) at gestational day 12.5 (GD 12.5) showed reduced social interaction in adulthood and signs of neuroinflammation in the cerebellum. Moreover, the injection of an inflammogen in the lobule VII of the cerebellum of adult mice caused reduced social interaction and an increase in activated microglia. These effects were absent when we injected the lobule IV/V, suggesting that specific structures are involved in the modulation of sociability. Our working hypothesis is then that lobule VII is implicated in the regulation of sociability in mice. The aim of this work is to study the structure and the funtion of the lobule VII in the cerebellum in different stage of development in mice. To this aim, we quantified the density of Purkinje cells in the cerebellum of VPA and control animals, at different postnatal ages. We hope that this study will help us understand the role of the cerebellum in the regulation of the sociability in a mouse model of ASD.