Effect of prenatal exposure to VPA on juvenile play in male mice: Identification of key neuronal groups

DI GUARDIA CASELLA LM; SEIFFE A; RAMIRES MF; DEPINO AM

CABA

Congreso; Sociedad Argentina de Investigación en Neurociencias 2022 Meeting; 2022

Sociedad Argentina de Investigación en Neurociencias

Autism spectrum disorder is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by social and communication deficits and repetitive patterns of behavior. We have previously found that male mice prenatally exposed to 600 mg/kg valproic acid (VPA) show reduced play solicitation at postnatal day 21. We hypothesized that these differences in behavior are correlated with alterations in the activity and function of specfic neuronal networks. To identify this, we sacrificed VPA and control animals 2h or 24h after a 30-min session of play with a same-treatment, unknown mouse. We analyzed the expression of the early gene cFos, as a marker of neuronal activation, in the prefrontal cortex and striatum, as both regions are reported to be involved in juvenile social play. Moreover, we studied cFos expression in the piriform cortex, as we previously reported hyperactivation of this region in VPA adult male mice. The behavioral analysis showed that mice prenatally exposed toVPA tend to perform fewer play solicitation, particularly because they approach their playmates less often. VPA animals show hyperactivity of the piriform cortex and prefrontal cortex, both 2 and 24h after juvenile social play, indicating that prenatal treatment alters neuronal activity in these regions but suggesting that they would not be involved in social play. In the striatum, we have not found cFos-positive neurons in any of the animals, indicating that this region is not involved in this behavior or affected by VPA.