This Month in Genetics

One possible explanation for the development of autism is an imbalance of neuronal excitation and inhibition. This hypothesis has been supported by rodent models, but typically involving wild-type animals. Selimbeyoglu et  al. decided that there might be more translational capacity for such studies if they incorporated a genetic model of autism. Starting with mice lacking CNTNAP2, which have social behavioral deficits, they used optogenetic methods to alter the excitation/inhibition balance in neurons and were able to rescue these social deficits.
Source: The American Journal of Human Genetics - Category: Genetics & Stem Cells Authors: Tags: Editors' Corner Source Type: research