Psychological and Socio-Environmental Determinants of Sleep and Neurocognitive Function (PEDS)

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Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are a complex set of neurodevelopmental disorders, affecting social reciprocity, communication and repetitive, stereotyped behaviors. Epidemiological associations link delivery by cesarean section (CS) with increased risk of ASD, however, observational studies in humans are unable to determine the potential for causality in this association. Therefore, we will use the socially monogamous prairie vole (Microtus ochrogaster). The prairie vole is one of the few animal models that allows us to examine the neurobiology underlying selective social attachments, which are important to human health and wellbeing. Our preliminary evidence suggests that prairie voles delivered via CS fail to form partner preferences as adults, which indicates some deficit in their selective social attachment. Previous work has indicated that CS delivery can affect stress reactivity, delay social skills, and reduce social self-esteem in infancy / childhood, but virtually no relevant studies have been conducted in humans to examine how CS might impact social behavior in later life. Therefore, we will investigate: how social behavior is affected by CS delivery throughout development in prairie voles, whether CS delivery affects functional and structural connectivity within the brain, and the contributions of oxytocin and/or hypoxia at birth to the relationship between CS delivery and subsequent neurodevelopment. We hypothesize that by disrupting oxytocin signaling at birth, CS delivery makes the developing brain more vulnerable to hypoxia, which in turn insults brain development in ways that predispose the newborn towards ASDs.