Mutations in neuroligin-3 in male mice impact behavioral flexibility but not relational memory in a touchscreen test of visual transitive inference.
Rebecca H C Norris, Leonid Churilov, Anthony J Hannan and 1 others
PMID 31827744WHAT IT FOUND
Mice with mutations in a synapse gene linked to autism could still infer unseen visual pairs, but made fewer repeated errors and were slower to respond.
These are mouse findings, not evidence that therapy should change.
Key findings
01Mice with Nlgn3 mutations performed similarly to controls on the visual transitive inference test.
02Both mutant groups made fewer repeated errors than controls while learning early stimulus pairs.
03Both mutant groups were slower to make correct and incorrect responses while learning the first stimulus pair.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they found
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What it does not show
This was a mouse study, so it does not show how people with Nlgn3 mutations perform on cognitive tasks. Only male mice were tested, so the results may not apply to females. The main mutant and control groups were tested in two smaller cohorts of about 6 to 8 mice per genotype per cohort. The authors note they could not always correct for multiple statistical comparisons in secondary measures. The authors note replication would be ideal but is difficult because the training is long and complex. The authors note it is unknown whether rodent transitive inference uses the same mechanisms as humans. The authors note there is currently no available cognitive data measuring transitive inference in individuals with mutations in NLGN3.
Declared interests
The supplied text lists funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council, the Australian Research Council, and the Australian Federal Government. It does not state other conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that Nlgn3 mutations cause normal transitive inference in people. The paper tested mice, and it states there is currently no available cognitive data measuring transitive inference in individuals with mutations in NLGN3.