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Barbier M, Thirtamara Rajamani K, Netser S, Wagner S, Harony-Nicolas H. Altered neural activity in the mesoaccumbens pathway underlies impaired social reward processing in Shank3-deficient rats. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.12.05.570134. [PMID: 38106179 PMCID: PMC10723340 DOI: 10.1101/2023.12.05.570134] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2023]
Abstract
Social behaviors are crucial for human connection and belonging, often impacted in conditions like Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The mesoaccumbens pathway (VTA and NAc) plays a pivotal role in social behavior and is implicated in ASD. However, the impact of ASD-related mutations on social reward processing remains insufficiently explored. This study focuses on the Shank3 mutation, associated with a rare genetic condition and linked to ASD, examining its influence on the mesoaccumbens pathway during behavior, using the Shank3-deficient rat model. Our findings indicate that Shank3-deficient rats exhibit atypical social interactions and have difficulty adjusting behavior based on reward values, associated with modified neuronal activity of VTA dopaminergic and GABAergic neurons and reduced dopamine release in the NAc. Moreover, we demonstrate that manipulating VTA neuronal activity can normalize this behavior, providing insights into the effects of Shank3 mutations on social reward and behavior, and identify a potential neural pathway for intervention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marie Barbier
- Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
- Seaver Autism Center for Research and Treatment, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
- Department of Neuroscience, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
- Friedman Brain Institute, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
| | - Keerthi Thirtamara Rajamani
- Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
- Seaver Autism Center for Research and Treatment, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
- Department of Neuroscience, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
- Friedman Brain Institute, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
| | - Shai Netser
- Sagol Department of Neurobiology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
| | - Shlomo Wagner
- Sagol Department of Neurobiology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
| | - Hala Harony-Nicolas
- Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
- Seaver Autism Center for Research and Treatment, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
- Department of Neuroscience, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
- Friedman Brain Institute, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
- Mindich Child Health and Development Institute at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
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