title: Understanding autism and other neurodevelopmental disorders through experimental translational neurobehavioral models.
abstract: Neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) are highly prevalent and severely debilitating brain illnesses caused by aberrant brain growth and development. Resulting in cognitive, social, motor, language and affective disabilities, common NDDs include autism spectrum disorder (ASD), intellectual disability, communication/speech disorders, motor/tic disorders and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Affecting neurogenesis, glia/neuronal proliferation and migration, synapse formation and myelination, aberrant neural development occurs over a substantial period of time. Genetic, epigenetic, and environmental factors play a key role in NDD pathogenesis. Animal models are an indispensable tool to study NDDs. Paralleling clinical findings, we comprehensively evaluate various preclinical tests and models which target key (social, cognitive, motor) neurobehavioral domains of ASD and other common NDDs. Covering both traditional (rodent) and alternative NDD models, we outline the emerging areas of research and emphasize how preclinical models play a key role in gaining translational and mechanistic insights into NDDs and their therapy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition, and Behaviour, Radboud University Medical Centre, Nijmegen, Netherlands.
authors.forename: Judith R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Homberg
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, College of Medicine, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA; The International Stress and Behavior Society (ISBS) and ZENEREI Research Center, Slidell, LA, USA.
authors.forename: Evan J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Kyzar
authors.affiliation: The International Stress and Behavior Society (ISBS) and ZENEREI Research Center, Slidell, LA, USA; New York University School of Medicine, NY, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nguyen
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK.
authors.forename: William H
authors.initials: WH
authors.lastname: Norton
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Troy University, Troy, AL, USA.
authors.forename: Julian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Pittman
authors.affiliation: The International Stress and Behavior Society (ISBS) and ZENEREI Research Center, Slidell, LA, USA.
authors.forename: Manoj K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Poudel
authors.affiliation: The International Stress and Behavior Society (ISBS) and ZENEREI Research Center, Slidell, LA, USA.
authors.forename: Siddharth
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gaikwad
authors.affiliation: Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Shun
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nakamura
authors.affiliation: Departments of Pediatrics and Biochemistry, Saitama Medical University, Saitama, Japan.
authors.forename: Mamiko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Koshiba
authors.affiliation: Departments of Pediatrics and Biochemistry, Saitama Medical University, Saitama, Japan.
authors.forename: Hideo
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yamanouchi
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell Biology and Neurosciences, Istituto Superiore di Sanita, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Maria Luisa
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Scattoni
authors.affiliation: Centre for Advanced Imaging, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: Jeremy F P
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Ullman
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USA; J.A. Haley Veterans Hospital, Research and Development Service, Tampa, FL, USA.
authors.forename: David M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Diamond
authors.affiliation: The International Stress and Behavior Society (ISBS) and ZENEREI Research Center, Slidell, LA, USA.
authors.forename: Aleksandra A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Kaluyeva
authors.affiliation: School of Health Sciences and Social Work, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth, UK.
authors.forename: Matthew O
authors.initials: MO
authors.lastname: Parker
authors.affiliation: Pavlov Physiology Department, Institute of Experimental Medicine IEM RAS, St. Petersburg, Russia.
authors.forename: Victor M
authors.initials: VM
authors.lastname: Klimenko
authors.affiliation: Research Institute of Nutrition RAS, Moscow, Russia.
authors.forename: Sergey A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Apryatin
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
authors.forename: Richard E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Brown
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada; Research Institute of Marine Drugs and Nutrition, College of Food Science and Technology, Guangdong Ocean University, Zhanjiang, Guangdong, China; Graduate Neuroscience Institute, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Cai
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Song
authors.affiliation: Institute of Translational Biomedicine, St. Petersburg State University, St. Petersburg, Russia; Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology, Skolkovo, Moscow Region, Russia.
authors.forename: Raul R
authors.initials: RR
authors.lastname: Gainetdinov
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA.
authors.forename: Irving I
authors.initials: II
authors.lastname: Gottesman
authors.affiliation: Research Institute of Marine Drugs and Nutrition, College of Food Science and Technology, Guangdong Ocean University, Zhanjiang, Guangdong, China; Institute of Translational Biomedicine, St. Petersburg State University, St. Petersburg, Russia; Institutes of Chemical Technology and Natural Sciences, Ural Federal University, Ekaterinburg, Russia. Electronic address: avkalueff@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Allan V
authors.initials: AV
authors.lastname: Kalueff
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000067877:Autism Spectrum Disorder; D001321:Autistic Disorder; D001921:Brain; D065886:Neurodevelopmental Disorders; D055495:Neurogenesis
keywords: Experimental model; Model organism; Neurodevelopmental disorder; Preclinical study; Translational research