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Novel Behavioral Assays to Model Neurodevelopmental Disorders in the Xenopus laevis Tadpole
Author(s) -
RamirezVizcarrondo Carolina,
Hasan Mashfiq,
Gu Jenny,
Khakhalin Arseny,
Aizenman Carlos
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.29.1_supplement.657.1
Subject(s) - xenopus , hindbrain , neuroscience , habituation , tadpole (physics) , model organism , stimulus (psychology) , sensory gating , biology , prepulse inhibition , zebrafish , psychology , central nervous system , gating , genetics , gene , schizophrenia (object oriented programming) , physics , particle physics , psychiatry , psychotherapist
Experimental behavioral assays and animal models are essential to elucidate the mechanisms that underlie behavioral phenotypes associated with disorders such as Autism Spectrum Disorders and Fragile X Syndrome. The Xenopus laevis tadpole has long been used as a model to study the mechanisms that underlie development of brain circuits. We aim to use this organism as a model for understanding the etiology of neurodevelopmental disorders. Their simplified nervous system and well‐characterized stages of development are some advantages that make Xenopus an efficient organism to model these disorders. In this study, we develop and validate a comprehensive suite of behavioral experiments to assess normal and abnormal neurodevelopment in Xenopus tadpoles. Behavioral assays include visual avoidance behavior (a type of behavior in which the animal avoids objects engaging at a collision trajectory), acoustic startle reflex habituation (a form of non‐associative memory that relies on hindbrain circuitry), pre‐pulse inhibition (a type of hindbrain‐mediated short‐term sensory processing in which a weaker pre‐stimulus inhibits the effects of a subsequent strong stimulus), propensity to seizures, and schooling behavior. We show that Xenopus tadpoles express several innate behaviors that can be manipulated and used to infer normal and abnormal neural circuit development. In combination with existing electrophysiological and neuroanatomical assays, this study will help to firmly establish the Xenopus tadpole as a useful model for studying basic biological mechanisms underlying neurodevelopmental disorders. Funding Sources: APS IOSP Fellowship (NSF IOS‐1238831), NEI (NIH), and Brown University