SFARI | Topic: Circuits, Cognition & Behavior

The central amygdala controls learning in the lateral amygdala.

Male-specific deficits in natural reward learning in a mouse model of neurodevelopmental disorders.

Neuronal overexpression of Ube3a isoform 2 causes behavioral impairments and neuroanatomical pathology relevant to 15q11.2-q13.3 duplication syndrome.

Beyond excitation/inhibition imbalance in multidimensional models of neural circuit changes in brain disorders.

Gating of social reward by oxytocin in the ventral tegmental area.

Neural responses to linguistic stimuli in children with and without autism spectrum disorder.

Dissecting the circuits underlying autism-like behaviors in mice

Many genes implicated in autism encode proteins at synapses, the connections between neurons. These proteins include the neuroligin-neurexin complex and the PSD95-SAPAP-SHANK complex at synapses that release the neurotransmitter glutamate[ref]Ting J.T. et al. Ann. Rev. Neurosci. 35, 49-71 (2012) PubMed[/ref].

Cellular and circuit effects of SCN2A haploinsufficiency

Dysfunction in SCN2A, which encodes the neuronal sodium channel NaV1.2, is strongly linked to autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Building on the recent finding that multiple ASD-associated mutations in SCN2A dampen or eliminate NaV1.2 channel function, the Bender Lab is now exploring how loss of SCN2A function affects developing and mature neuronal networks in mouse models.

Testing the stability of neural responses to tactile stimuli in fragile X syndrome mice

Portera-Cailliau and O’Donnell will study neural responses to tactile stimuli in fragile X syndrome mice to test whether sensory representations are varying and unstable over time.

Understanding somatosensation deficits in autism spectrum disorder

Ginty will define the mechanisms of aberrant touch sensitivity in mouse models of ASD and in individuals with ASD, and will translate these findings into possible therapeutics.