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Social Behavior from Rodents to Humans pp 311–324Cite as

Genetic Animal Models for Autism Spectrum Disorder

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Part of the book series: Current Topics in Behavioral Neurosciences ((CTBN,volume 30))

Abstract

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) affects approximately 1 % of the human population and has a strong genetic component. Hence, the recent discovery of major “ASD genes” has subsequently resulted in the generation of several genetic animal models of ASD. Careful analysis of behavioral phenotypes and characterization of the underlying neurobiological mechanisms in these models should further help us to identify novel therapeutic targets and develop more effective strategies in the future to ameliorate or even reverse core symptoms and comorbidities of ASD. In this review, we will focus on the mutant mouse as animal model and outline how to characterize both behavioral and neurobiological phenotypes in this organism. We will further discuss a selection of major ASD mutant mouse lines. Our conclusions will finally address the current goals and perspectives in the field to obtain a more comprehensive and possibly also converging picture of ASD pathogenesis, which could be most useful for the desired bench-to-bedside strategy of translational medicine for this complex disorder.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Anatomy and Cell Biology, Ulm University, Ulm, Germany

    Jan C. Schroeder, Dominik Reim, Tobias M. Boeckers & Michael J. Schmeisser

  2. Department of Neurology, Ulm University, Ulm, Germany

    Michael J. Schmeisser

Authors
  1. Jan C. Schroeder
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  2. Dominik Reim
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  3. Tobias M. Boeckers
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  4. Michael J. Schmeisser
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Michael J. Schmeisser .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Behavioral Neuroscience, Experim. and Physiological Psychology Philipps-University of Marburg, Marburg, Germany

    Markus Wöhr

  2. Dep of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Philipps-University of Marburg, Marburg, Germany

    Sören Krach

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Schroeder, J.C., Reim, D., Boeckers, T.M., Schmeisser, M.J. (2015). Genetic Animal Models for Autism Spectrum Disorder. In: Wöhr, M., Krach, S. (eds) Social Behavior from Rodents to Humans. Current Topics in Behavioral Neurosciences, vol 30. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/7854_2015_407

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