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Autism

Grooming mice to model autism

Nature Reviews Neuroscience volume 12, pages 248–249 (2011)Cite this article

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ASDs are characterized by certain key traits that include impaired social interaction and repetitive behaviours. The authors developed Shank3 knockout mice (Shank3B−/− mice), which they assessed in a series of behavioural tests to identify behavioural defects. They found that mutant mice spent much less time engaging in social interaction than wild-type animals. In addition, mutant mice exhibited excessive repetitive grooming — a potential correlate of the repetitive behaviour observed in ASDs.

mutant mice exhibited excessive repetitive grooming — a potential correlate of the repetitive behaviour observed in ASDs

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References

ORIGINAL RESEARCH PAPER

  1. Peça, J. et al. Shank3 mutant mice display autistic-like behaviours and striatal dysfunction. 20 Mar 2011 Nature (doi:10.1038/nature09965)

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FURTHER READING

  1. Giza, J. et al. Behavioral and cerebellar transmission deficits in mice lacking the autism-linked gene islet brain-2. J. Neurosci. 30, 14805–14816 (2010)

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Authors
  1. Sian Lewis
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Lewis, S. Grooming mice to model autism. Nat Rev Neurosci 12, 248–249 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn3033

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