Defensive and offensive behaviours in a Kleefstra syndrome mouse model

Autor: Alejandra Alonso, Anumita Samanta, Jacqueline van der Meij, Liz van den Brand, Moritz Negwer, Irene Navarro Lobato, Lisa Genzel
Rok vydání: 2023
Předmět:
Zdroj: Animal Cognition.
ISSN: 1435-9456
1435-9448
Popis: Kleefstra syndrome in humans is characterized by a general delay in development, intellectual disability and autistic features. The mouse model of this disease (Ehmt1±) expresses anxiety, autistic-like traits, and aberrant social interactions with non-cagemates. To investigate how Ehmt1± mice behave with unfamiliar conspecifics, we allowed adult, male animals to freely interact for 10 min in a neutral, novel environment within a host-visitor setting. In trials where the Ehmt1± mice were hosts, there were defensive and offensive behaviors. Our key finding was that Ehmt1± mice displayed defensive postures, attacking and biting; in contrast, wild-type (WT) interacting with other WT did not enact such behaviors. Further, if there was a fight between an Ehmt1± and a WT mouse, the Ehmt1± animal was the most aggressive and always initiated these behaviors.
Databáze: OpenAIRE
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