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ISDN2014_0162: Keys for reporting an fMRI in motor control study
Author(s) -
Mouelhi H.R.,
Kouki S.,
Bahi S.,
Guerfel M.,
Arous Y.,
Bougemaa H.,
Ben Abdallah N.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
international journal of developmental neuroscience
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.761
H-Index - 88
eISSN - 1873-474X
pISSN - 0736-5748
DOI - 10.1016/j.ijdevneu.2015.04.136
Subject(s) - medicine , interventional radiology , radiology , teaching hospital , medical physics , general surgery
an olfactory discrimination test is performed. During the juvenile period, behavioral tests assessing exploration (Open field at P15, 20, 25), sensorimotor gating (Prepulse inhibition (PPI) at P35), and social interactions assessments (at P40) were used to detect behavioral impairments. Brains were removed at P40 for neuropathological studies (MRI, immunohistochemical studies and electron microscopy studies). Results: Brain damage featured lateral ventricles widening, predominately in male, reduction of periventricular external capsules thickness, oligodendrocyte loss, and disorganization of fronto-parietal sub-cortical tissue without any persistant glial proliferation. Autistic hallmarks were found in offspring exposed to GBS, namely deficits in exploratory behavior, social and communicative impairments, i.e. profound defects in the integration and response to both acoustic (PPI) and chemical signals (nest-seeking test) that are predominant modes of communication in rats. Surprisingly, only male offspring were affected by these combined autistic-like traits. Discussion: Our results show for the first time that maternofetal inflammatory response to GBS plays a role in the induction of cerebral insults, remarkably recapitulating cardinal features of human autism, such as gender dichotomy and neurobehavioral traits. These results also provide important evidence that beyond genetic influences, modifiable environmental factors play a role in both the occurrence of autism, and in its gender imbalance.