Implication of the social function of excessive self-grooming behavior in BTBR T+ltpr3tf/J mice as an idiopathic model of autism
Implication of the social function of excessive self-grooming behavior in BTBR T+ltpr3tf/J mice as an idiopathic model of autism
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DOI：
10.1016/j.physbeh.2021.113432
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发表时间：
2021-05-01
影响因子：
2.9
通讯作者：
Arakawa, Hiroyuki
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Arakawa, Hiroyuki
自闭症谱系障碍（Autism spectrum disorder， ASD）由两个核心行为特征定义，即重复性行为受限和社交功能受损。BTBR T(+)ltpr3(tf)/J （BTBR）小鼠为阐明ASD这两种行为特征的潜在机制提供了有价值的动物模型。本研究考察了BTBR小鼠过度梳理行为作为限制重复行为的一种表型的社会功能。与对照C57BL/6 J （B6）品系相比，BTBR小鼠在单独放置在测试装置中时表现出更多的自我梳理行为，而在三室测试装置中面对刺激小鼠（B6或BTBR）时，这种行为更为明显。B6小鼠倾向于在房间空的一侧梳理它们的脸/鼻子区域，而BTBR小鼠则表现出过度的梳理，并且在含有社会刺激的房间一侧的梳理身体区域之间频繁转换。急性全身注射丁螺环酮，一种5 -羟色胺1A受体激动剂，作为一种抗焦虑药，促进了B6和BTBR小鼠在三室环境下对社会刺激的接近行为。然而，这种处理不影响B6小鼠的梳理行为，并显著增强了BTBR小鼠的自我梳理。BTBR小鼠的这些行为表明，在社会刺激下，梳理毛发可能具有潜在的信号功能，在社交对手附近表达的BTBR小鼠全身梳理毛发可能会刺激嗅觉信号的释放（可能是不屑一顾的）。因此，过度梳理背后的神经机制可能不同于那些与焦虑机制相关的调节社交方式的神经机制。
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is defined by two core behavioral characteristics, namely, restricted repetitive behaviors and impaired social-communicative functioning. BTBR T(+)ltpr3(tf)/J (BTBR) mice provide a valuable animal model for ASD to elucidate the underlying mechanisms of these two behavioral characteristics of ASD. This study examined the social function of excessive grooming behavior in BTBR mice as a phenotype of restricted repetitive behaviors. Compared to the control C57BL/6 J (B6) strain, BTBR mice showed increased self-grooming when placed alone in a test apparatus, and this behavior was even more evident when confronted with a stimulus mouse (either B6 or BTBR) in a three-chamber test apparatus. While B6 mice tended to groom their face/snout region on the empty side of the chamber, BTBR mice showed excessive grooming with frequent transitions among grooming body regions on the side of the chamber containing a social stimulus. Acute systemic injection of buspirone,a serotonin 1A receptor agonist, as an anxiolytic, facilitated approach behavior toward social stimuli in the three-chamber setting in both B6 and BTBR mice. However, this treatment did not affect grooming behavior in B6 mice and significantly enhanced self-grooming in BTBR mice. These behaviors in BTBR mice suggest a potential signaling function of grooming in response to social stimuli, in which bodywide grooming of BTBR mice expressed in the proximity of social opponents may stimulate the release of olfactory (possibly dismissive) signals. Consequently, the putative neural mechanisms underlying excessive grooming may differ from those regulating social approaches that are associated with anxiolytic mechanisms.