| First Author | Balasco L | Year | 2022 |
| Journal | Cereb Cortex | Volume | 32 |
| Issue | 14 | Pages | 3042-3056 |
| PubMed ID | 34791077 | Mgi Jnum | J:331660 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:7316274 | Doi | 10.1093/cercor/bhab399 |
| Citation | Balasco L, et al. (2022) Abnormal Whisker-Dependent Behaviors and Altered Cortico-Hippocampal Connectivity in Shank3b-/- Mice. Cereb Cortex 32(14):3042-3056 |
| abstractText | Abnormal tactile response is an integral feature of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs), and hypo-responsiveness to tactile stimuli is often associated with the severity of ASDs core symptoms. Patients with Phelan-McDermid syndrome (PMS), caused by mutations in the SHANK3 gene, show ASD-like symptoms associated with aberrant tactile responses. The neural underpinnings of these abnormalities are still poorly understood. Here we investigated, in Shank3b-/- adult mice, the neural substrates of whisker-guided behaviors, a key component of rodents' interaction with the surrounding environment. We assessed whisker-dependent behaviors in Shank3b-/- adult mice and age-matched controls, using the textured novel object recognition (tNORT) and whisker nuisance (WN) test. Shank3b-/- mice showed deficits in whisker-dependent texture discrimination in tNORT and behavioral hypo-responsiveness to repetitive whisker stimulation in WN. Sensory hypo-responsiveness was accompanied by a significantly reduced activation of the primary somatosensory cortex (S1) and hippocampus, as measured by c-fos mRNA induction, a proxy of neuronal activity following whisker stimulation. Moreover, resting-state fMRI showed a significantly reduced S1-hippocampal connectivity in Shank3b mutants, in the absence of altered connectivity between S1 and other somatosensory areas. Impaired crosstalk between hippocampus and S1 might underlie Shank3b-/- hypo-reactivity to whisker-dependent cues, highlighting a potentially generalizable somatosensory dysfunction in ASD. |
