Low sociability is associated with reduced size of the corpus callosum in the BALB/cJ inbred mouse strain

Andrew H Fairless; Holly C Dow; Monica M Toledo; Kristen A Malkus; Michele Edelmann; Hongzhe Li; Konrad Talbot; Steven E Arnold; Ted Abel; Edward S Brodkin

doi:10.1016/j.brainres.2008.07.025

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Low sociability is associated with reduced size of the corpus callosum in the BALB/cJ inbred mouse strain

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Low sociability is associated with reduced size of the corpus callosum in the BALB/cJ inbred mouse strain

Andrew H Fairless, Holly C Dow, Monica M Toledo, Kristen A Malkus, Michele Edelmann, Hongzhe Li, Konrad Talbot, Steven E Arnold, Ted Abel and Edward S Brodkin

Brain research, Vol.1230, pp.211-217

2008

DOI: 10.1016/j.brainres.2008.07.025

PMCID: PMC2629607

PMID: 18662677

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https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/2629607View

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Abstract

The behavioral manifestations of autism, including reduced sociability (reduced tendency to seek social interaction), may be related to underdevelopment of the corpus callosum (CC). The BALB/cJ inbred mouse strain is a useful model system for testing the relationship between reduced sociability and CC underdevelopment. BALB/cJ mice show low levels of sociability, on average, but substantial intrastrain variability in sociability, as well as striking variability in CC development. This study tested the hypothesis that sociability is positively correlated with CC size within the BALB/cJ inbred strain. 30-day-old BALB/cJ and C57BL/6J mice were tested for sociability towards gonadectomized A/J stimulus mice in a social choice task. The size of the corpus callosum was measured histologically at the midsagittal plane. BALB/cJ mice showed a significant positive correlation between the tendency to sniff the stimulus mouse and size of the CC relative to brain weight. C57BL/6J mice showed consistently high levels of sociability and normal corpus callosum development. These results suggest that abnormal white matter structure is associated with deficits in sociability in BALB/cJ mice. Additional studies are warranted to elucidate the relationship between brain connectivity and sociability in this model system.

Autism

Brain

Development

Connectivity

Affiliative behavior

Social approach

Details

Title: Subtitle: Low sociability is associated with reduced size of the corpus callosum in the BALB/cJ inbred mouse strain
Creators: Andrew H Fairless - Center for Neurobiology and Behavior, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Translational Research Laboratory, 125 South 31st Street, Room 2220, Philadelphia, PA 19104-3403, USA
Holly C Dow - Center for Neurobiology and Behavior, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Translational Research Laboratory, 125 South 31st Street, Room 2220, Philadelphia, PA 19104-3403, USA
Monica M Toledo - Center for Neurobiology and Behavior, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Translational Research Laboratory, 125 South 31st Street, Room 2220, Philadelphia, PA 19104-3403, USA
Kristen A Malkus - Center for Neurobiology and Behavior, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Translational Research Laboratory, 125 South 31st Street, Room 2220, Philadelphia, PA 19104-3403, USA
Michele Edelmann - Center for Neurobiology and Behavior, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Translational Research Laboratory, 125 South 31st Street, Room 2220, Philadelphia, PA 19104-3403, USA
Hongzhe Li - Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, 920 Blockley Hall, 423 Guardian Drive, Philadelphia, PA 19104-6021, USA
Konrad Talbot - Center for Neurobiology and Behavior, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Translational Research Laboratory, 125 South 31st Street, Room 2220, Philadelphia, PA 19104-3403, USA
Steven E Arnold - Center for Neurobiology and Behavior, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Translational Research Laboratory, 125 South 31st Street, Room 2220, Philadelphia, PA 19104-3403, USA
Ted Abel - Department of Biology, University of Pennsylvania, 204G Lynch Laboratory, 433 South University Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19104-6018, USA
Edward S Brodkin - Center for Neurobiology and Behavior, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Translational Research Laboratory, 125 South 31st Street, Room 2220, Philadelphia, PA 19104-3403, USA
Resource Type: Journal article
Publication Details: Brain research, Vol.1230, pp.211-217
DOI: 10.1016/j.brainres.2008.07.025
PMID: 18662677
PMCID: PMC2629607
NLM abbreviation: Brain Res
ISSN: 0006-8993
eISSN: 1872-6240
Publisher: Elsevier B.V
Language: English
Date published: 2008
Academic Unit: Molecular Physiology and Biophysics; Psychiatry; Psychological and Brain Sciences; Iowa Neuroscience Institute; Neuroscience and Pharmacology; Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Record Identifier: 9984065739202771

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