Journal article
Social isolation alters social and mating behavior in the R451C neuroligin mouse model of autism
EL Burrows, AF Eastwood, C May, SC Kolbe, T Hill, NM McLachlan, L Churilov, AJ Hannan
Neural Plasticity | HINDAWI LTD | Published : 2017
DOI: 10.1155/2017/8361290
Abstract
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder typified by impaired social communication and restrictive and repetitive behaviors. Mice serve as an ideal candidate organism for studying the neural mechanisms that subserve these symptoms. The Neuroligin-3 (NL3) mouse, expressing a R451C mutation discovered in two Swedish brothers with ASD, exhibits impaired social interactions and heightened aggressive behavior towards male mice. Social interactions with female mice have not been characterized and in the present study were assessed in male N L 3 R 451 C and WT mice. Mice were housed in social and isolation conditions to test for isolation-induced increases in social interacti..
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Awarded by ARC FT3 Future Fellowship
Awarded by Australian Research Council
Funding Acknowledgements
This work was funded by a Melbourne Neuroscience Institute Interdisciplinary Seed Grant and a Jack Brockhoff Foundation Medical Research Project Grant to A. J. Hannan and E. L. Burrows. E. L. Burrows is supported by a National Health and Medical Research Council-Australian Research Council (NHMRC-ARC) Dementia Research Development Fellowship. A. J. Hannan is an NHMRC Principal Research Fellow and has been supported by an ARC FT3 Future Fellowship (FT100100835). The authors thank past and present laboratory members for useful discussions. They also thank Daniel Drieberg, Ana Hudson, Brittany Cuic, Brett Purcell, and Craig Thomson for their technical assistance; Elisa Hill-Yardin for assistance in setting up the mouse colony; and David Grayden for involvement in the Melbourne Neuroscience Institute application that provided funds for this study.