Banca de QUALIFICAÇÃO: DEBORA HASHIGUCHI

Uma banca de QUALIFICAÇÃO de DOUTORADO foi cadastrada pelo programa.
STUDENT : DEBORA HASHIGUCHI
DATE: 04/07/2023
TIME: 14:00
LOCAL: Auditório do Instituto do Cérebro
TITLE:

EMOTIONAL CONTAGION IN AN EXPERIMENTAL MODEL OF AUTISM

KEY WORDS:

VPA rat model; emotional contagion; social behavior; dynamic of behavioral responses; environmental modulation.

PAGES: 61
BIG AREA: Ciências Biológicas
AREA: Fisiologia
SUMMARY:

Impaired social communication is a prominent feature of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), often accompanied by comorbidities such as anxiety and sensory hypersensitivity that prevent appropriate behavioral responses to specific stimuli. Administration of valproic acid (VPA) to rats has been shown to replicate certain ASD-like characeristic, including deficits in social interaction. Thus, this study aimed to investigate the ability of rats treated with VPA to perceive and respond to the emotional state induced by fear of their cagemates. Our findings indicate that both VPA-treated and control (CTL) rats exhibit similar behavioral responses during the emotional contagion test. However, there are differences in the dynamics of these responses between the two groups. Rats treated with VPA demonstrate a pattern of greater responsiveness at the onset of emotional contagion with slower decline in this responsiveness, suggesting greater sensitivity and less adaptability. It is worth mentioning that, although the characteristics of the ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs) and the freezing behavior in the demonstrator rats show similar characteristics and are thus comparable between the two groups, the temporal patterns of these responses differ between the experimental blocks. Combined analysis of USVs and freezing behavior suggests that the demonstrator's response to the shock stimulus is modulated by environmental factors such as cohabitation with observer rats treated with VPA or CTL.

COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
Interno - 3086031 - DANIEL YASUMASA TAKAHASHI
Interna - 6346130 - MARIA BERNARDETE CORDEIRO DE SOUSA
Presidente - 1698305 - RODRIGO NEVES ROMCY PEREIRA