ArticleExperimental brain research2021
Abnormal morphology and subcortical projections to the medial geniculate in an animal model of autism.
Article in Experimental brain research, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
14 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 36 citations in OpenAlex.
- Auditory processing in rodent models of autism: a systematic review.Journal of neurodevelopmental disorders · 2022Pooled it
- Sex- and etiology-specific effects on predictive processing in the inferior colliculus of two rat models of autism.Communications biology · 2026Article
- Sex Differences in Auditory Brainstem Responses of Two Rat Models of Autism: Environmental and Genetic Contributions to Autism-Like Auditory Function.Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research · 2025Article
- Impact of repeated intranasal gentamicin irrigation on structure and function of the vestibular brainstem.Experimental brain research · 2025Article
- Pairing tones with vagus nerve stimulation improves brain stem responses to speech in the valproic acid model of autism.Journal of neurophysiology · 2024Article
- Cortical dysmorphology and reduced cortico-collicular projections in an animal model of autism spectrum disorder.Cerebral cortex (New York, N.Y. : 1991) · 2024Article
- Degraded inferior colliculus responses to complex sounds in prenatally exposed VPA rats.Journal of neurodevelopmental disorders · 2024Article
- Obliteration of a glycinergic projection to the medial geniculate in an animal model of autism.Frontiers in cellular neuroscience · 2024Article
- The nuclei of the lateral lemniscus: unexpected players in the descending auditory pathway.Frontiers in neuroanatomy · 2023Article
- Leveling up: a long-range olivary projection to the medial geniculate without collaterals to the central nucleus of the inferior colliculus in rats.Experimental brain research · 2022Article
- Auditory symptoms and autistic spectrum disorder: A scoping review and recommendations for future research.Journal of otology · 2022Article
- Auditory Dysfunction in Animal Models of Autism Spectrum Disorder.Frontiers in molecular neuroscience · 2022Review
- The Untouchable Ventral Nucleus of the Trapezoid Body: Preservation of a Nucleus in an Animal Model of Autism Spectrum Disorder.Frontiers in integrative neuroscience · 2021Article
- Multiple Sources of Cholinergic Input to the Superior Olivary Complex.Frontiers in neural circuits · 2021Article
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Authors and funding
3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Auditory dysfunction, including hypersensitivity and tinnitus, is a common symptom of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Prenatal exposure to the antiseizure medication valproic acid (VPA) significantly increases the risk of ASD in humans and similar exposure is utilized as an animal model of ASD in rodents. Animals exposed to VPA in utero have abnormal activity in their auditory cortex in response to sounds, fewer neurons, abnormal neuronal morphology, reduced expression of calcium-binding proteins, and reduced ascending projections to the central nucleus of the inferior colliculus. Unfortunately, these previous studies of central auditory circuits neglect the medial geniculate (MG), which serves as an important auditory relay from the midbrain to the auditory cortex. Here, we examine the structure and connectivity of the medial geniculate (MG) in rats prenatally exposed to VPA. Our results indicate that VPA exposure results in significantly smaller and fewer neurons in the ventral and medial nuclei of the MG. Furthermore, injections of the retrograde tract tracer fluorogold (FG) in the MG result in significantly fewer FG+ neurons in the inferior colliculus, superior olivary complex, and ventral cochlear nucleus. Together, we interpret these findings to indicate that VPA exposure results in hypoplasia throughout the auditory circuits and that VPA has a differential impact on some long-range axonal projections from brainstem centers to the thalamus. Together, our findings support the widespread impact of VPA on neurons and sensory circuits in the developing brain.
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