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bioRxiv · 10.1101/2021.11.17.468945

Suppressed prefrontal neuronal firing variability and impaired social representation in IRSp53-mutant mice

Kim, W.·Noh, Y. W.·Lee, S.·Choi, W.·Paik, S.-B.·Jung, M. W.·Lee, E.·Kim, E.
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Abstract

Social deficit is a major feature of neuropsychiatric disorders, including autism spectrum disorders, schizophrenia, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, but its neural mechanisms remain unclear. Here, we examined neuronal discharge characteristics in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) of IRSp53-mutant mice, which show social deficits, during social approach. IRSp53-mutant excitatory mPFC neurons displayed an increase in baseline neuronal firing and decreases in variability and dynamic range of firing rates and burst firing during social and non-social target approaches compared to wild-type controls. As a consequence, their firing activity was less differential between social and non-social targets. In addition, there was a decrease in the proportion of excitatory mPFC neurons encoding social information but not that of those encoding non-social information. These results suggest that insufficient neuronal activity dynamics may underlie impaired cortical encoding of social information and social behaviors in IRSp53-mutant mice.

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Kim, W., Noh, Y. W., Lee, S., Choi, W., Paik, S.-B., Jung, M. W., Lee, E., Kim, E.. 2021-11-19. Suppressed prefrontal neuronal firing variability and impaired social representation in IRSp53-mutant mice. https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.11.17.468945

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