Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder affecting sociocommunicative behavior, but also sensorimotor skill learning, oculomotor control, and executive functioning. Some of these impairments may be related to abnormalities the caudate nuclei, which have been reported for autism.Our sample was comprised 8 high-functioning males with autism handedness, sex, age-matched controls. Subjects underwent functional MRI scanning during performance on simple visuomotor coordination tasks. Functional...

Alcohol use is common during the adolescent period, a time at which number of crucial neurobiological, hormonal, and behavioral changes occur (Spear, 2000). In order to more fully understand complex interaction between alcohol these age-typical neurobiological changes, animal models must be utilized. Rodents experience developmental period similar that adolescence. Although rat have shown striking adolescent-specific differences in sensitivity ethanol, little work has been done mice despite...

Background: There is considerable research examining differences in adolescent and adult sensitivity tolerance to ethanol related behavioral phenotypes. However, the available published data has almost exclusively assessed these behaviors outbred rats. The present study was conducted using alcohol preferring inbred mouse strain C57BL/6J (B6) nonpreferring DBA/2J (D2) determine if sedative ataxic effects of exist between adolescents adults, whether there are any genetic influences involved...

Abstract A key feature of compulsive alcohol drinking is continuing to drink despite negative consequences. To examine the changes in neural activity that underlie this behavior, was assessed a validated rodent model heritable risk for excessive (alcohol preferring (P) rats). Neural measured dorsal medial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC—a brain region involved maladaptive decision-making) and via change point analyses novel principal component analyses. population representations specific...

Abstract The rate at which alcohol (ethanol) is consumed has direct impact on its behavioral and subjective effects. For this reason, alterations in the pattern of ethanol consumption as a function drinking history might be critical to development maintenance alcoholism. Furthermore, because pharmacological interventions aimed disrupting motivation consume are dependent brain/plasma concentrations present when an individual most likely engage substance, characterizing temporal patterns...

Background: Tolerance to the behavioral and subjective effects of alcohol (ethanol) is thought be a major predictive factor for development alcoholism. Evidence from rodent models has supported this view with those animals most likely develop tolerance generally drinking preferring ethanol more so than resistant it. Despite evidence, very little known about relationships between ethanol-induced consumption. The goal study was evaluate ataxic using mouse model binge-like intake dubbed...

Abstract Background Excessive alcohol (ethanol) consumption, such as binge drinking, is extremely commonplace and represents a major health concern. Through modeling excessive drinking in rodents, we are beginning to uncover the neurobiological neurobehavioral causes consequences of this pattern ethanol intake. One important factor for mice that they reliably drink blood concentrations (BECs) 80 mg/dl or higher. Drinking‐in‐the‐dark (DID) commonly used mouse model have shown method results...

Spreading depolarization (SD) is a slowly propagating wave of profound that sweeps through cortical tissue. While much emphasis has been placed on the damaging consequences SD, there uncertainty surrounding potential activation beneficial pathways such as cell survival and plasticity. The present study used unbiased assessments gene expression to evaluate compensatory repair mechanisms could be recruited following regardless induction method, which prior this work had not assessed. We also...

Abstract Animal models of prenatal ethanol exposure are necessary to more fully understand the effects on developing embryo/fetus. However, most employ procedures that may produce additional maternal stress beyond produced by alone. We employed a daily limited‐access intake model called Drinking in Dark (DID) assess voluntary binge‐like mouse. Evidence suggests binge be particularly harmful embryo/fetus, perhaps due relatively higher blood concentrations achieved. Pregnant females had mean...

Abstract The ability to flexibly switch between goal-directed actions and habits is critical for adaptive behavior. infralimbic prefrontal cortex (IfL-C) has been consistently identified as a crucial structure the regulation of response strategies. To investigate role IfL-C, present study employed two validated reinforcement schedules that either promote or in mice. results reveal information about action-outcome relationships differentially encoded IfL-C during evidenced by encoding...

Prenatal alcohol exposure can produce disruptions in a wide range of cognitive functions, but it is especially detrimental to spatial navigation. In open environments, rodents organize their behaviors around centralized locations, termed home bases, from which they make circuitous and slow locomotor trips (progressions) into the rest environment. Open-field are organized even under darkened test conditions, suggesting role for self-motion cues (vestibular, motor, etc.). The impact moderate...

Abstract Adolescence is a highly conserved period during which mammals undergo number of hormonal, biological, and behavioral changes [Spear [2000] Neurosci. Biobehav. Rev. 24: 417–463]. Ethical constraints limit the research that can be done in human adolescents. Rodents provide useful model at least some features adolescence, including increases body growth, differences sleep/wake, eating patterns, as well risk‐taking, novelty seeking, exploratory behaviors. Much available developmental...

Background Neural activity within the prefrontal cortex ( PFC ) is altered by alcohol and alcohol‐associated stimuli mediated genetic susceptibility to alcoholism. However, very little known about how risk of excessive drinking might mediate neural firing in during consumption. Methods To determine influences seeking, intake, activity, a Pavlovian consumption task was used—the 2‐Way Cued Access Protocol (2 CAP ). Alcohol‐preferring “P” rats relatives their (heterogeneous) founding Wistar...

The acute locomotor effects of voluntary ethanol (EtOH) intake in mice (stimulation/sedation) might be important behavioral indicators an animals' propensity to engage EtOH consumption and/or seeking behaviors. Using a binge-like model dubbed "Drinking-in-the-Dark (DID)," we recently observed home cage stimulation C57BL/6J during session, but sedation following repeated exposures. To determine the role novelty history on these previously described effects, and relationship between variables...

Abstract The prefrontal cortex (PFC) plays a central role in guiding decision making, and its function is altered by alcohol use an individual’s innate risk for excessive drinking. primary goal of this work was to determine how neural activity the PFC guides drink. Towards goal, within-session changes were measured from medial (mPFC) rats performing drinking procedure that allowed them consume or abstain self-paced manner. Recordings obtained either lacked expressed intake, Wistar...

Beyond yielding high blood ethanol (EtOH) concentrations (BECs), binge-drinking models allow examination of drinking patterns which may be associated with EtOH's rewarding effects, including front-loading and consummatory successive negative contrast (cSNC), a decrease in intake when only water is available to subjects expecting EtOH. The goals the current study were broaden our understanding these reward-related behaviors during binge EtOH access alcohol-preferring (HAP) replicate lines...

The neuronal Hu/ELAV-like proteins HuB, HuC and HuD are a class of RNA-binding that crucial for proper development maintenance the nervous system. These bind to AU-rich elements (AREs) in untranslated regions (3′-UTRs) target mRNAs regulating mRNA stability, transport translation. In addition these cytoplasmic functions, Hu have been implicated alternative splicing polyadenylation nucleus. purpose this study was identify transcriptome-wide effects deletion on both nuclear events using RNA...