Targeting anandamide metabolism rescues core and associated autistic-like symptoms in rats prenatally exposed to valproic acid.

ABSTRACT: Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are characterized by altered sociability, compromised communication and stereotyped/repetitive behaviors, for which no specific treatments are currently available. Prenatal exposure to valproic acid (VPA) is a known, although still underestimated, environmental risk factor for ASD. Altered endocannabinoid activity has been observed in autistic patients, and endocannabinoids are known to modulate behavioral traits that are typically affected in ASD. On this basis, we tested the hypothesis that changes in the endocannabinoid tone contribute to the altered phenotype induced by prenatal VPA exposure in rats, with focus on behavioral features that resemble the core and associated symptoms of ASD. In the course of development, VPA-exposed rats showed early deficit

SUBMITTER: Servadio M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5048215 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature