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Spontaneous Visual Preference for Face-Like Stimuli Is Impaired in Newly-Hatched Domestic Chicks Exposed to Valproic
Alice Adiletta1, Samantha Pedrana1, Orsola Rosa-Salva1
1Center for Mind/Brain Sciences, University of Trento, Rovereto, Italy.
Insights
Valproic acid (VPA) exposure in chicks disrupts their innate preference for face-like stimuli, suggesting a potential animal model for studying autism spectrum disorder (ASD) face processing deficits.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Psychology
- Animal Behavior
Background:
- Face processing is crucial for social development, with innate orienting responses observed in neonates, primates, and chicks.
- Early deficits in face processing are hypothesized as biomarkers for social deficits in autism spectrum disorders (ASD).
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of VPA exposure on face-like stimuli processing in domestic chicks.
- To evaluate the domestic chick as a potential animal model for studying ASD-related face processing impairments.
Main Methods:
- Domestic chicks were exposed to VPA to induce neurodevelopmental changes mimicking ASD.
- Chicks' approach responses and preferences to schematic face-like stimuli were measured.
Main Results:
- VPA exposure significantly impaired chicks' preference responses to schematic face-like stimuli.
- This impairment suggests a disruption in social orienting mechanisms.
Conclusions:
- The domestic chick, when exposed to VPA, exhibits deficits in processing face-like stimuli, similar to those seen in ASD.
- This study proposes the domestic chick as a viable model for exploring the biological underpinnings of face processing deficits in ASD.
Abstract:
Faces convey a great amount of socially relevant information related to emotional and mental states, identity and intention. Processing of face information is a key mechanism for social and cognitive development, such that newborn babies are already tuned to recognize and orient to faces and simple schematic face-like patterns since the first hours of life. Similar to neonates, also non-human primates and domestic chicks have been shown to express orienting responses to faces and schematic face-like patterns. More importantly, existing studies have hypothesized that early disturbances of these mechanisms represent one of the earliest biomarker of social deficits in autism spectrum disorders (ASD). We used VPA exposure to induce neurodevelopmental changes associated with ASD in domestic chicks and tested whether VPA could impact the expression of the animals' approach responses to schematic face-like stimuli. We found that VPA impairs the chicks' preference responses to these social stimuli. Based on the results shown here and on previous studies, we propose the domestic chick as animal model to investigate the biological mechanisms underlying face processing deficits in ASD.
