Online Brain Science Seminar Series (BSS)

Dr. Gloria Choi, MIT

Date/Time

Friday, November 19, 2021, 10:00-11:30 (JST)　(Nov.18, 20:00-21:30 EST)

Abstract

Neuroimmune interactions shaping social behavior

The beneficial effects of infection and the ensuing inflammation on neurological disorders have previously been noted. For example, a subset of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) exhibits temporary but considerable improvements in their behavioral symptoms during episodes of fever, a sign of systemic inflammation. However, a mechanistic understanding of how fever-associated immune responses translate into behavioral relief—both at the molecular and neural level—is lacking. We show that the social behavioral deficits in offspring exposed to maternal immune activation can be temporarily rescued by the inflammatory response elicited by the administration of lipopolysaccharide (LPS). This behavioral rescue was accompanied by a reduction in neural activity in the primary somatosensory cortex dysgranular zone (S1DZ), the hyperactivity of which has previously been implicated in the manifestation of behavioral phenotypes associated with offspring exposed to MIA. We also show that both the behavioral rescue and the reduction in neural activity are mediated through the expression of IL-17 receptor subunit a (IL-17Ra) in the neurons of the S1DZ.

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