Synaptic plasticity in mouse models of autism spectrum disorders

Analysis of synaptic plasticity together with behavioral and molecular studies have become a popular approach to model autism spectrum disorders in order to gain insight into the pathosphysiological mechanisms and to find therapeutic targets. Abnormalities of specific types of synaptic plasticity have been revealed in numerous genetically modified mice that have molecular construct validity to human autism spectrum disorders. Constrained by the feasibility of technique, the common regions analyzed in most studies are hippocampus and visual cortex. The relevance of the synaptic defects in these regions to the behavioral abnormalities of autistic like behaviors is still a subject of debate. Because the exact regions or circuits responsible for the core features of autistic behaviors in humans are still poorly understood, investigation using region-specific conditional mutant mice may help to provide the insight into the neuroanatomical basis of autism in the future.