Genetic background effects in Neuroligin-3 mutant mice: Minimal behavioral abnormalities on C57 background.
Thomas C Jaramillo, Christine Ochoa Escamilla, Shunan Liu and 3 others
PMID 29028156WHAT IT FOUND
Mice carrying the NL3R451C mutation on a C57 background showed no social deficit or enhanced spatial learning versus wild-type mice.
They moved more and startled less to loud tones.
Key findings
01On a pure C57BL6J background, NL3R451C mice did not show enhanced spatial memory or social deficits compared with wild-type littermates.
02The mutant mice showed increased locomotor activity over a 2-hour test compared with wild-type mice.
03The mutant mice showed less acoustic startle to high decibel tones, while prepulse inhibition was unchanged.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they found
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What it does not show
This was a mouse study, not a study of people, so it does not directly tell therapists what to do with patients. All mice were male, so the results do not describe females. The paper states a cohort of 42 male mice, but it does not give the final number analyzed for each genotype or each test. One mouse pair was removed from the dark/light test and one from the cookie test because of experimenter error. The testing schedule had gaps because equipment, facility, or technician availability was not predetermined. The study used many behavioral tests, and some spatial probe and reversal results were not uniform across measures.
Declared interests
The authors declared no competing interests. The article is tagged as supported by NIH and non-U.S. government sources.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the lack of social deficits in these mice as evidence about autism in patients. The study tested mouse behavior on a C57 background, not people.