背景:自闭症谱系障碍(ASD)的特征是持续的社交互动障碍,并且在患病率上具有男性偏见。我们已经在雄性恒河猴中建立了自然发生的低社交性,作为ASD社会特征的模型。低社交性雄性猴子表现出减少的社交互动和增加的自闭症样特征负担,两种措施与低脑脊液(CSF)精氨酸加压素(AVP)浓度高度相关且密切相关。鲜为人知,然而,关于雌性恒河猴的行为和神经化学特征,以及女性的低社会性是否是ASD的一个易于处理的模型。
方法:社会行为评估(行为学观察;反向翻译自闭症特质测量量表,在非繁殖季节,对N=88只户外饲养的雌性恒河猴完成了猕猴社交反应量表[mSRS-R])。在非社会行为的频率分布中,从N=16只猴子的子集收集CSF和血液样本,定量AVP和催产素(OXT)浓度。使用一般线性模型分析数据。
结果:非社会行为频率和mSRS-R得分连续分布在一般雌性猴子群体中,就像以前发现的雄性猴子一样。然而,优势等级显著预测女性的mSRS-R得分,排名较高的个体表现出较少的自闭症样特征,以前在这个殖民地的男性中没有观察到的关系。女性在其他几个方面与男性不同:社会行为频率与mSRS-R得分无关,AVP浓度与任何社会行为测量无关。女性中AVP的血液和CSF浓度呈正相关;未发现涉及任何OXT测量的显着关系。
结论:本研究样本很小,并且没有考虑遗传,环境,或其他可能与女性mSRS-R评分相关的神经化学指标。
结论:优势等级是雌性恒河猴自闭症样特征的最重要预测指标,和CSF神经肽浓度与女性社会功能的测量无关(与先前在雄性恒河猴以及男性和女性自闭症儿童中的CSFAVP发现相反)。虽然是初步的,这些证据表明,该物种强大的母系组织可能会限制雌性恒河猴的低社交性作为ASD的可处理模型的有用性。
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is characterized by persistent social interaction impairments and is male-biased in prevalence. We have established naturally occurring low sociality in male rhesus monkeys as a model for the social features of ASD. Low-social male monkeys exhibit reduced social interactions and increased autistic-like trait burden, with both measures highly correlated and strongly linked to low cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) arginine vasopressin (AVP) concentration. Little is known, however, about the behavioral and neurochemical profiles of female rhesus monkeys, and whether low sociality in females is a tractable model for ASD.
Social behavior assessments (ethological observations; a reverse-translated autistic trait measurement scale, the macaque Social Responsiveness Scale-Revised [mSRS-R]) were completed on N = 88 outdoor-housed female rhesus monkeys during the non-breeding season. CSF and blood samples were collected from a subset of N = 16 monkeys across the frequency distribution of non-social behavior, and AVP and oxytocin (OXT) concentrations were quantified. Data were analyzed using general linear models.
Non-social behavior frequency and mSRS-R scores were continuously distributed across the general female monkey population, as previously found for male monkeys. However, dominance rank significantly predicted mSRS-R scores in females, with higher-ranking individuals showing fewer autistic-like traits, a relationship not previously observed in males from this colony. Females differed from males in several other respects: Social behavior frequencies were unrelated to mSRS-R scores, and AVP concentration was unrelated to any social behavior measure. Blood and CSF concentrations of AVP were positively correlated in females; no significant relationship involving any OXT measure was found.
This study sample was small, and did not consider genetic, environmental, or other neurochemical measures that may be related to female mSRS-R scores.
Dominance rank is the most significant predictor of autistic-like traits in female rhesus monkeys, and CSF neuropeptide concentrations are unrelated to measures of female social functioning (in contrast to prior CSF AVP findings in male rhesus monkeys and male and female autistic children). Although preliminary, this evidence suggests that the strong matrilineal organization of this species may limit the usefulness of low sociality in female rhesus monkeys as a tractable model for ASD.