Parikh T, Lee S, Walker BR (2003) Inhibition within the nucleus tractus solitarius (NTS) ameliorates social deficits due to specific acetylcholine (ACh) or Purkinje cell lesions. Neuroscience 2003 Abstracts 423.18. Society for Neuroscience, New Orleans, LA.
Summary: Previously, we demonstrated that enhancement of GABA transmission, or blockade of ionotropic glutamate within rat brainstem structures, which mediate limbic-motor seizure control, attenuated behavioral deficits, which were similar to those seen in human patients with autism, due to developmental cerebellum lesions. Evidence suggests that within autism spectrum disorders, there is a decrease in cholinergic neurons in the forebrain and/or a loss of purkinje cells in the cerebellum which might account for these behavioral deficits. Therefore, in the present study, we tested the hypothesis that specific lesions to the rat ACh system or reduction of purkinje cells in the rat cerebellum would lead to specific alterations of social behavior. Furthermore, alterations in GABA and glutamate transmission within the NTS would correct these social deficits. We examined the effect of ACh or purkinje cell lesions on social behavior in rats by recording social interactions before and after bilateral saporin injections (192-IgG or OX-7; 2 µg/side). As compared to preinjection behavior, saporin injections decreased social interaction of adult rats. Bilateral microinjections of the GABA agonist muscimol (256 pmol) into the mNTS at least 10 minutes prior to behavioral testing returned the amount of social investigation of the lesioned animals to pre-saporin levels. These findings suggest that specific neuronal populations are responsible for mediating social behavior in rats, and that there is a functional connection between those systems and the brainstem structures utilized for seizure control.
Related Products: 192-IgG-SAP (Cat. #IT-01), OX7-SAP (Cat. #IT-02)