Department of Biological Science, Graduate School of Science, Nagoya University, Nagoya, Aichi 464-8602, Japan.
Department of Biological Science, Graduate School of Science, Nagoya University, Nagoya, Aichi 464-8602, Japan
eNeuro. 2024 Oct 29;11(10). doi: 10.1523/ENEURO.0141-24.2024. Print 2024 Oct.
Deficits in social behavior are found in neurodevelopmental disorders, including autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). Since abnormalities in cerebellar morphology and function are observed in ASD patients, the cerebellum is thought to play a role in social behavior. However, it remains unknown whether the cerebellum is involved in social behavior in other animals and how cerebellar circuits control social behavior. To address this issue, we employed zebrafish stereotyped orienting behavior as a model of social behaviors, in which a pair of adult zebrafish in two separate tanks approach each other, with one swimming at synchronized angles (orienting angles) with the other. We harnessed transgenic zebrafish that express botulinum toxin, which inhibits the release of neurotransmitters, in either granule cells or Purkinje cells (PCs), and zebrafish mutants of , which is involved in the positioning of cerebellar neurons, including PCs. These zebrafish, deficient in the function or formation of cerebellar neural circuits, showed a significantly shorter period of orienting behavior compared with their control siblings. We found an increase in c- and expression in the cerebellum after the orienting behavior. These results suggest that zebrafish cerebellar circuits play an important role in social orienting behavior.
社会行为缺陷存在于神经发育障碍中，包括自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）。由于 ASD 患者的小脑形态和功能异常，小脑被认为在社会行为中发挥作用。然而，小脑是否参与其他动物的社会行为以及小脑回路如何控制社会行为尚不清楚。为了解决这个问题，我们采用了斑马鱼刻板定向行为作为社会行为的模型，在这个模型中，一对在两个单独水箱中的成年斑马鱼彼此靠近，其中一条以与另一条同步的角度（定向角度）游动。我们利用表达肉毒杆菌毒素的转基因斑马鱼，肉毒杆菌毒素可以抑制神经递质的释放，在颗粒细胞或浦肯野细胞（PC）中表达；还利用了参与小脑神经元定位的突变体，包括 PC。这些在小脑神经回路的功能或形成上有缺陷的斑马鱼，与它们的对照兄弟姐妹相比，定向行为的持续时间明显缩短。我们发现定向行为后小脑内 c- 和 表达增加。这些结果表明，斑马鱼小脑回路在社会定向行为中起着重要作用。
