Autism-associated Shank3 is essential for homeostatic plasticity and neuronal circuit stability

Mutations in Shank3 are strongly associated with autism spectrum disorders and circuit disfunction, but a unified view of how Shank3 loss disrupts circuit function and excitability is lacking. Stabilizing, homeostatic forms of synaptic and intrinsic plasticity are critical for preventing circuit hyp...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inbioRxiv
Main Authors Tatavarty, Vedakumar, Alejandro Torrado Pacheco, Lin, Heather, Miska, Nathaniel J, Hengen, Keith B, Wagner, Florence F, Turrigiano, Gina G
Format Paper
LanguageEnglish
Published Cold Spring Harbor Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press 05.09.2018
Subjects
Autism
Circuits
Cortex
Excitability
Homeostatic plasticity
Lithium
Synaptic plasticity
Visual pathways
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Summary:Mutations in Shank3 are strongly associated with autism spectrum disorders and circuit disfunction, but a unified view of how Shank3 loss disrupts circuit function and excitability is lacking. Stabilizing, homeostatic forms of synaptic and intrinsic plasticity are critical for preventing circuit hyper- or hypo-excitability, leading us to ask whether Shank3 loss perturbs circuits by disrupting homeostatic plasticity. We show that Shank3 loss abolishes synaptic and intrinsic homeostatic plasticity, which can be rescued by lithium, a drug with therapeutic potential in human Shankopathies. Further, Shank3 loss in vivo severely compromises the ability of visual cortical circuits to recover from perturbations to sensory drive. Our findings suggest that the loss of homeostatic compensation is a critical endophenotype that can explain a range of circuit disfunctions in Shankopathies.
DOI:10.1101/365445