comprehensive analysis of ultrasonic vocalizations in a mouse model of fragile x syndrome reveals limited, call type specific deficits综合分析超声波的叫声在脆性x综合征小鼠模型揭示了有限,调用类型特定的赤字.pdfVIP

Comprehensive Analysis of Ultrasonic Vocalizations in a Mouse Model of Fragile X Syndrome Reveals Limited, Call Type Specific Deficits 1 2 1 Snigdha Roy *, Nick Watkins , Detlef Heck 1 Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, Tennessee, United States of America, 2 Department of Biology, Christian Brothers University, Memphis, Tennessee, United States of America Abstract Fragile X syndrome (FXS) is a well-recognized form of inherited mental retardation, caused by a mutation in the fragile X mental retardation 1 (Fmr1) gene. The gene is located on the long arm of the X chromosome and encodes fragile X mental retardation protein (FMRP). Absence of FMRP in fragile X patients as well as in Fmr1 knockout (KO) mice results, among other changes, in abnormal dendritic spine formation and altered synaptic plasticity in the neocortex and hippocampus. Clinical features of FXS include cognitive impairment, anxiety, abnormal social interaction, mental retardation, motor coordination and speech articulation deficits. Mouse pups generate ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs) when isolated from their mothers. Whether those social ultrasonic vocalizations are deficient in mouse models of FXS is unknown. Here we compared isolation-induced USVs generated by pups of Fmr1-KO mice with those of their wild type (WT) littermates. Though the total number of calls was not significantly different between genotypes, a detailed analysis of 10 different categories of calls revealed that loss of Fmr1 expression in mice causes limited and call-type specific deficits in ultrasonic vocalization: the carrier frequency of flat calls was higher, the percentage of downward calls was lower and that the frequency range of complex calls was wider in Fmr1-KO mice compa