◆The specific brain region where functional changes causes the symptom of difficulty remembering other people in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) was unknown.
◆When the ASD-related gene Shank3 was disrupted in neurons in the ventral CA1 region of the hippocampus, which stores memories of others (social memory), the autistic symptom of impaired ability to remember others appeared. This study revealed that the hippocampus is involved in the pathogenesis of ASD.
◆This study is anticipated to enhance our understanding of the neural mechanisms underlying ASD. It suggests that the ventral CA1 region of the hippocampus could be a potential target for developing novel treatments for ASD.
Pressrelease
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Journals
Journal:
Nature Communications
Title: Conditional knockout of
Shank3 in the ventral CA1 by quantitative
in vivo genome-editing impairs social memory in mice
Author: Myung Chung, Katsutoshi Imanaka, Ziyan Huang, Akiyuki Watarai, Mu-Yun Wang, Kentaro Tao, Hirotaka Ejima, Tomomi Aida, Guoping Feng, Teruhiro Okuyama*
DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-48430-x
URL:
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-48430-x
Contact
Institute for Quantitative Biosciences, The University of Tokyo
Teruhiro Okuyama
Associate Professor
