: Empirical evidence suggests that children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) show abnormal behavior during delay eyeblink conditioning. They show a higher conditioned response learning rate and earlier peak latency of the conditioned response signal. The neuronal mechanisms underlying this autistic behavioral phenotype are still unclear. Here, we use a physiologically constrained spiking neuron model of the cerebellar-cortical system to investigate which features are critical to explaining atypical learning in ASD. Significantly, the computer simulations run with the model suggest that the higher conditioned responses learning rate mainly depends on the reduced number of Purkinje cells. In contrast, the earlier peak latency mainly depends on the hyper-connections of the cerebellum with sensory and motor cortex. Notably, the model has been validated by reproducing the behavioral data collected from studies with real children. Overall, this article is a starting point to understanding the link between the behavioral and neurobiological basis in ASD learning. At the end of the paper, we discuss how this knowledge could be critical for devising new treatments.

Cortico-cerebellar hyper-connections and reduced purkinje cells behind abnormal eyeblink conditioning in a computational model of autism spectrum disorder / Trimarco, Emiliano; Mirino, Pierandrea; Caligiore, Daniele. - In: FRONTIERS IN SYSTEMS NEUROSCIENCE. - ISSN 1662-5137. - 15:(2021). [10.3389/fnsys.2021.666649]

Cortico-cerebellar hyper-connections and reduced purkinje cells behind abnormal eyeblink conditioning in a computational model of autism spectrum disorder

Trimarco, Emiliano;Mirino, Pierandrea;
2021

Abstract

: Empirical evidence suggests that children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) show abnormal behavior during delay eyeblink conditioning. They show a higher conditioned response learning rate and earlier peak latency of the conditioned response signal. The neuronal mechanisms underlying this autistic behavioral phenotype are still unclear. Here, we use a physiologically constrained spiking neuron model of the cerebellar-cortical system to investigate which features are critical to explaining atypical learning in ASD. Significantly, the computer simulations run with the model suggest that the higher conditioned responses learning rate mainly depends on the reduced number of Purkinje cells. In contrast, the earlier peak latency mainly depends on the hyper-connections of the cerebellum with sensory and motor cortex. Notably, the model has been validated by reproducing the behavioral data collected from studies with real children. Overall, this article is a starting point to understanding the link between the behavioral and neurobiological basis in ASD learning. At the end of the paper, we discuss how this knowledge could be critical for devising new treatments.
2021
associative learning; autism; cerebellar-cortical circuit; hyper-connectivity; prefrontal cortex; sensory-motor cortex; spiking neuron models; system-level neuroscience
01 Pubblicazione su rivista::01a Articolo in rivista
Cortico-cerebellar hyper-connections and reduced purkinje cells behind abnormal eyeblink conditioning in a computational model of autism spectrum disorder / Trimarco, Emiliano; Mirino, Pierandrea; Caligiore, Daniele. - In: FRONTIERS IN SYSTEMS NEUROSCIENCE. - ISSN 1662-5137. - 15:(2021). [10.3389/fnsys.2021.666649]
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11573/1600486
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