Laboratory on Behavioral Neuroscience investigates the behavioral actions of brain neurotransmitters, receptors, and neurodevelopmental genes, using rodent models of neuropsychiatric diseases. Approaches include behavioral neuropharmacology and behavioral genetics.
Our laboratory generates new rodent behavioral tasks and applies emerging technologies to investigate genes regulating complex behavioral traits. Employing a comprehensive range of behavioral tests and control parameters, our research team developed a three-tiered strategy for mouse behavioral phenotyping, that is now widely used by the international biomedical research community. Mutant mouse models of human genetic diseases, including autism, Alzheimer’s, cognitive decline, anxiety, depression, schizophrenia, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, Tay-Sachs, Sandhoff’s, Lowe syndrome, Smith-Lemli-Opitz syndrome, Fragile X syndrome, ataxia telangiectasia, epilepsy, and obesity have been characterized for behavioral phenotypes with conceptual analogies to human symptoms. Robust mouse behavioral phenotypes provide surrogate markers for evaluating the therapeutic efficacy of novel treatments for neuropsychiatric diseases.
Current research focuses on generating mouse models of autism, to understand the genes underlying autism spectrum disorders, and to develop effective treatments for the core symptoms. Mouse behavioral assays with face validity to the diagnostic symptoms of autism are being developed, including social approach, reciprocal social interaction, juvenile play, auditory and olfactory communication, motor stereotypies, repetitive and perseverative behaviors, and resistance to change in routine. Applying this approach, an obscure inbred strain of mice, BTBR T+tf/J, was discovered to display social deficits, communication abnormalities, and repetitive self-grooming, relevant to all three core symptoms of autism. Transgenic and knockout mice with targeted mutations in a variety of neurodevelopmental genes are currently being analyzed, to test hypotheses about specific genes responsible for autism spectrum disorders.