Disruption of visual circuit formation and refinement in a mouse model of autism.

Aberrant connectivity is believed to contribute to the pathophysiology of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Recent neuroimaging studies have increasingly identified such impairments in patients with ASD, including alterations in sensory systems. However, the cellular substrates and molecular underpinnings of disrupted connectivity remain poorly understood. Utilizing eye-specific segregation in the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus (dLGN) as a model system, we investigated the formation and refinement of precise patterning of synaptic connections in the BTBR T + tf/J (BTBR) mouse model of ASD. We found that at the neonatal stage, the shape of the dLGN occupied by retinal afferents was altered in the BTBR group compared to C57BL/6J (B6) animals. Notably, the degree of overlap between the ipsi- and contralateral afferents was significantly greater in the BTBR mice. Moreover, these abnormalities continued into mature stage in the BTBR animals, suggesting persistent deficits rather than delayed maturation of axonal refinement. Together, these results indicate disrupted connectivity at the synaptic patterning level in the BTBR mice, suggesting that in general, altered neural circuitry may contribute to autistic behaviours seen in this animal model. In addition, these data are consistent with the notion that lower-level, primary processing mechanisms contribute to altered visual perception in ASD. Autism Res 2017, 10: 212-223. © 2016 The Authors Autism Research published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of International Society for Autism Research

Scoping Review of kinetic based methods for objective gait analysis in horses

Background: Gait analysis for horses can be performed either subjectively or objectively. The subjective method observes horses in motion. Whereas for an objective analysis, data on specific gait parameters are collected and reviewed. Objective gait analysis can be broken down into two disciplines: kinetic and kinematic based. Kinetic methods rely on applied force(s) data and kinematic methods analyze temporal and spatial parameters of gait. Objective: To complete a scoping review of kinetic based methods used for objective gait analysis Eligibility Criteria: Any articles (peer reviewed) and conference papers (peer reviewed and published) will be included in this study. Articles must include a kinetic based means of gait analysis that has been applied to horses. Kinematic based methods of analysis and any articles with humans or other animals will be excluded. Sources of evidence: Searches will be conducted in MEDLINE, CAB Abstracts, SportDiscus, Compendex, and IEEE Xplore

Disruption of visual circuit formation and refinement in a mouse model of autism.

Aberrant connectivity is believed to contribute to the pathophysiology of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Recent neuroimaging studies have increasingly identified such impairments in patients with ASD, including alterations in sensory systems. However, the cellular substrates and molecular underpinnings of disrupted connectivity remain poorly understood. Utilizing eye-specific segregation in the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus (dLGN) as a model system, we investigated the formation and refinement of precise patterning of synaptic connections in the BTBR T + tf/J (BTBR) mouse model of ASD. We found that at the neonatal stage, the shape of the dLGN occupied by retinal afferents was altered in the BTBR group compared to C57BL/6J (B6) animals. Notably, the degree of overlap between the ipsi- and contralateral afferents was significantly greater in the BTBR mice. Moreover, these abnormalities continued into mature stage in the BTBR animals, suggesting persistent deficits rather than delayed maturation of axonal refinement. Together, these results indicate disrupted connectivity at the synaptic patterning level in the BTBR mice, suggesting that in general, altered neural circuitry may contribute to autistic behaviours seen in this animal model. In addition, these data are consistent with the notion that lower-level, primary processing mechanisms contribute to altered visual perception in ASD. Autism Res 2017, 10: 212-223. © 2016 The Authors Autism Research published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of International Society for Autism Research