Autism-associated gene shank3 is necessary for social contagion in zebrafish.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Animal models enable targeting autism-associated genes, such as the shank3 gene, to assess their impact on behavioural phenotypes. However, this is often limited to simple behaviours relevant for social interaction. Social contagion is a complex phenotype forming the basis of human empathic behaviour and involves attention to the behaviour of others for recognizing and sharing their emotional or affective state. Thus, it is a form of social communication, which constitutes the most common developmental impairment across autism spectrum disorders (ASD).

Methods

Here we describe the development of a zebrafish model that identifies the neurocognitive mechanisms by which shank3 mutation drives deficits in social contagion. We used a CRISPR-Cas9 technique to generate m

SUBMITTER: Kareklas K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10311831 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature