Cerebellar-cerebro cortical circuits in ASD

项目摘要 目前还没有针对自闭症谱系障碍(ASD)的靶向治疗方法，作为潜在的 机制仍然知之甚少。最近的研究表明，小脑与糖尿病的发病机制有关。 ASDs2-5，虽然我们最近表明小脑功能障碍足以产生与ASD相关的 行为6。虽然在ASD的临床研究中已经发现了特定小脑区域的异常， 这些小脑域的确切功能以及这些域调节的神经回路基础 ASD的行为仍然知之甚少。 在这项提案中，我们提出的数据显示了临床上受牵连的小脑区的关键作用。 右CrusI7在调节ASD相关行为中的作用。此外，我们还表明，该区域的调制 在成年期能够部分挽救ASD小鼠模型中与ASD相关的行为。然而， 重要的问题仍然存在，包括关键期是否对小脑调节的不完全起作用 救援队。我们假设发育的关键时间窗将影响自闭症相关行为的救治。 为了评估这些假设，我们建议在目标1中进行实验，以建立关键的周期调节 ASD行为。 此外，考虑到越来越多的文献表明存在小脑-大脑皮质回路5， 另一个悬而未决的问题是，小脑是否通过调节 大脑皮层区域？我们已经生成了初步数据，证明了小脑之间的连接 和临床相关的内侧前额叶皮质(MPFC)以及支持mPFC在 小脑调节的ASD行为。基于这些数据，我们假设小脑对 MPFC将有助于ASD行为，丘脑-皮质环路将为 这些受小脑调节的ASD行为。为了解决这些假设，我们建议在AIMS 2中进行实验 3进一步建立小脑-mPFC连接的功能相关性，以确定解剖 在调节ASD相关行为方面的这种连通性的基础，并揭示是否调制 这些电路可以改善ASD相关行为。 因此，在这项建议中，我们将建立一个发育时间窗口，在此期间拯救小脑- 可以实现中介的ASD行为。此外，我们还将寻求确定并确定以下角色 小脑-mPFC回路在ASD相关行为中的作用，并确定回路调制对ASD的治疗益处 这些行为。因此，这些研究不仅将加深我们对ASD基本机制的理解，而且 还将评估使用基于电路的神经调节治疗的临床前潜力 房间隔缺损的治疗。

Project Summary No targeted therapies exist for the treatment of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), as the underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. Recent studies have implicated the cerebellum in the pathogenesis of ASDs2-5, while we have recently shown that cerebellar dysfunction is sufficient to generate ASD-relevant behaviors6. Although abnormalities in specific cerebellar regions have been identified in clinical ASD studies, the exact functions of these cerebellar domains and the neural circuit basis by which these domains regulate ASD behaviors remains poorly understood. In this proposal, we present data demonstrating a critical role for the clinically-implicated, cerebellar domain right CrusI7 in the regulation of ASD-related behaviors. Moreover, we also show that modulation of this region during adulthood is able to partially rescue ASD-related behaviors in an ASD mouse model. However, important questions remain including whether critical periods contribute to this incomplete cerebellar-mediated rescue. We hypothesize that developmental critical time windows will impact rescue of ASD-related behaviors. To evaluate these hypotheses, we propose experiments in Aim 1 to establish the critical periods regulating ASD behaviors. In addition, considering a growing literature demonstrating the presence of cerebellar-cerebro cortical circuits5, another unanswered question is whether the cerebellum regulates ASD behaviors through modulation of cortical domains? We have generated preliminary data demonstrating connectivity between the cerebellum and the clinically-implicated medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) as well as data supporting a role for the mPFC in cerebellar-regulated ASD behaviors. Based on these data, we hypothesize that cerebellar regulation of the mPFC will contribute to ASD behaviors and that thalamo-cortical circuits will provide an anatomic substrate for these cerebellar-regulated ASD behaviors. To address these hypotheses, we propose experiments in Aims 2 and 3 to further establish the functional relevance of cerebellar-mPFC connectivity, to determine the anatomic basis for this connectivity in the regulation of ASD-related behaviors, and to uncover whether modulation of these circuits can improve ASD-related behaviors. Thus, in this proposal, we will establish the developmental time windows during which rescue of cerebellar- mediated ASD behaviors can be achieved. We will additionally seek to identify and establish the role for cerebellar-mPFC circuits in ASD-related behaviors and define the therapeutic benefits of circuit modulation on these behaviors. Thus, these studies will not only further our understanding of basic mechanisms of ASD but will also evaluate the pre-clinical potential for therapeutics using circuit-based neuromodulation for the treatment of ASD.