Hyper-connectivity and hyper-plasticity in the medial prefrontal cortex in the valproic acid animal model of autism
Open accessAbstract
The prefrontal cortex has been extensively implicated in autism to explain deficits in executive and other higher-order functions related to cognition, language, sociability and emotion. The possible changes at the level of the neuronal microcircuit are however not known. We studied microcircuit alterations in the prefrontal cortex in the valproic acid rat model of autism and found that the layer 5 pyramidal neurons are connected to significantly more neighbouring neurons than in controls. These excitatory connections are more plastic displaying enhanced long-term potentiation of the strength of synapses. The microcircuit alterations found in the prefrontal cortex are therefore similar to the alterations previously found in the somatosensory cortex. Hyper-connectivity and hyper-plasticity in the prefrontal cortex implies hyper-functionality of one of the highest order processing regions in the brain, and stands in contrast to the hypo-functionality that is normally proposed in this region to explain some of the autistic symptoms. We propose that a number of deficits in autism such as sociability, attention, multi-tasking and repetitive behaviours, should be re-interpreted in the light of a hyper-functional prefrontal cortex.
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Hyperplasticity of this kind has been reported in mouse models of autism.
“precisely such hyperplasticity has been reported in mouse models of autism (67).”
From Autism as a disorder of prediction (2014) · cites this paper as [67]
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References 45 · Cited by 210
Research works printed but not linked: 1
- Price J. L. (2006). Prefrontal cortex. In Understanding Autism: From Basic Neuroscience to Treatment, Moldin S. O., eds (Boca Raton, CRC Press), pp. 205– 226
- Authors
- Rinaldi, T.
- Venue
- Frontiers in Neural Circuits
- Publisher
- Frontiers Media SA
- Published
- 2008-10-29
- Volume
- 2
- Pages
- 4-4
- ISSN
- 1662-5110 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC2580056
- OpenAlex
- W2081425755
- Cited by
- 210
- References
- 45
- Citations by year
- 2026: 8 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 15 · 2023: 11 · 2022: 17 · 2021: 11 · 2020: 12 · 2019: 12 · 2018: 11 · 2017: 8 · 2016: 13 · 2015: 14 · 2014: 17 · 2013: 10 · 2012: 13
- FWCI
- 5.53
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- cc-by
- Locations
- Frontiers in Neural Circuits (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- UCL Discovery (University College London) (submittedVersion)
- Infoscience (Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne) (submittedVersion)
- Infoscience (Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- MPG.PuRe (Max Planck Society) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- European Commission
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Autism Spectrum Disorder Research
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Genetics and Neurodevelopmental Disorders
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neuroscience and Neuropharmacology Research
- Keywords
- autism spectrum disorder, valproic acid, medial prefrontal cortex, hyperconnectivity, layer 5 pyramidal neurons, long-term potentiation, neuronal microcircuits, synaptic plasticity, executive function, social dysfunction, attention deficits, repetitive behavior
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