Adolescent female valproic acid rats have impaired extra-dimensional shifts of attention and enlarged anterior cingulate cortices

[Display omitted] •Adolescent valproic acid (VPA) female rats had enlarged frontal cortices compared to control females.•VPA female rats were impaired on the extra-dimensional shift phase of the task compared to control females.•Overgrowth of the prefrontal cortex regions was associated with reduced...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Brain research 2023-02, Vol.1800, p.148199-148199, Article 148199
Main Authors: Mali, Ivina, Payne, Macy, King, Cole, Maze, Tessa R., Davison, Taylor, Challans, Brandon, Bossmann, Stefan H., Plakke, Bethany
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Animals
ASD
Attention
Autism Spectrum Disorder - chemically induced
Behavior, Animal
Brain volume
Cognitive flexibility
Disease Models, Animal
Female
Gyrus Cinguli
Humans
Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects
Rats
Rodentia
Set-shifting
Social Behavior
Valproic Acid - pharmacology
VPA
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Summary:[Display omitted] •Adolescent valproic acid (VPA) female rats had enlarged frontal cortices compared to control females.•VPA female rats were impaired on the extra-dimensional shift phase of the task compared to control females.•Overgrowth of the prefrontal cortex regions was associated with reduced accuracy in an attentional set-shifting task. In order to develop better treatments for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) it is critical to understand the developmental trajectory of the disorder and the accompanying brain changes. This study used the valproic acid (VPA) model to induce ASD-like symptoms in rodents. Prior studies have demonstrated that VPA animals are impaired on executive function tasks, paralleling results in humans with ASD. Here, VPA adolescent female rats were impaired on a set-shifting task and had enlarged frontal cortices compared to control females. The deficits observed in the VPA female rats mirrors results in females with ASD. In addition, adolescent VPA females with enlarged frontal cortices performed the worst across the entire task. These brain changes in adolescence are also found in adolescent humans with ASD. These novel findings highlight the importance of studying the brain at different developmental stages.
ISSN:0006-8993
1872-6240
1872-6240
DOI:10.1016/j.brainres.2022.148199