Social Behavioral Deficits in Krushinsky-Molodkina Rats, an Animal Model of Audiogenic Epilepsy.

ABSTRACT: In clinical practice, epilepsy is often comorbid with the autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). This warrants a search of animal models to uncover putative overlapping neuronal mechanisms. The Krushinsky-Molodkina (KM) rat strain is one of the oldest inbred animal models for human convulsive epilepsies. We analyzed the behavioral response of adult seizure-naive KM males in three-chambered tests for social preference. We found that a presence of social stimuli (encaged unfamiliar Wistar rats of the same age and sex) evoked a reduced or reversed exploratory response in freely moving KM individuals. The epilepsy-prone rats demonstrated remarkably shortened bouts of social contacts and displayed less locomotion around the stranger rat-containing boxes, together with a pronounced freezing response.

SUBMITTER: Rebik AA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9781841 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature