Can Mice Make Friends? Social Behavior of Phenotypically Autistic Mice Samantha Giordano a, Sarah Guariglia b, Bradley Rehnberg a, and Guang Wen b a Department of Biological Science, York College of Pennsylvania b Institute of Basic Research, College of Staten Island Introduction ATSDR Report on Brick Township NJ showed higher than EPA standard levels of Bromoform, Chloroform and Tetrachloroethylene were in the drinking water. Autism Rates in Brick Township NJ ATSDR, 1998: 4.0 cases per 1,000 children Bertrand et al., 2001: 6.7 cases per 1,000 children Research found that the triad of chemicals found in Brick Township can cause an increase in the c-AMP RII subunit in the brain in clam embryos (Kreiling et al., 2005). Brain synapse functioning is disrupted in autism Guariglia tested the triad of chemicals on mice. Two of the 3 features of autism tested: 1)Verbal impairments 2)Cognitive/behavioral impairments 3)NO test of Social Impairments*** Question Do the mice treated with the triad of chemicals from Brick Township, NJ show social impairments?? Methods Female mice and their pups were given drinking water with different concentrations, control (0X), 1X, 10X, and 100X, of the triad of chemicals found in Brick Township NJ. Social Behavior Apparatus adapted from Moy et al. (2004) Social Behavior Test 1)Habituation: Experimental mouse was alone in the test apparatus 2)Socialization: Novel mouse 1 (same sex as the experimental mouse) was randomly placed into the left or right cup. The test mouse then entered the test apparatus. 3)Preference for Social Novelty: Novel mouse 2 (same sex as the Experimental Mouse) was placed into the empty cup. Both cups now contained control mice and the test mouse entered the test apparatus. Analysis Entries into left and right chambers Time in left and right chambers Time spent with novel mouse 1 Time spent with novel mouse 2 Time spent sniffing novel mouse 1 Time spent sniffing novel mouse 2 Literature Cited 1)Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry Brick township investigation. ATSDR. Available from: 2) Bertrand, J., Mars, A., Boyle, C., Bove, F., Yeargin-Allsopp, M., and Decoufle, P Prevalence of Autism in a Untied States Population: Brick Township, New Jersey, Investigation. Pediatrics 108: ) Kreiling, J.A., Stephens, R. E., Reinisch, C. L A Mixture of environmental contaminants increase c-AMP-dependent protein kinase in Spisula embryos. Environmental Toxicology and Pharmacology 19: ) Moy, S. S., Nadler, J. J., Perez, A., Barbaro, R. P., Johns, J. M., Magnuson, T. R., Piven, J., and Crawley, J.N Sociability and preference for social novelty in five inbred strains: an approach to assess autistic-like behavior in mice. Genes, Brain, and Behavior 3: Acknowledgements A special thank you to the Institute of Basic Research and the College of Staten Island. 6.4cm 50.8cm 17.1cm”17.1cm16.4cm 24.8cm Divider height: 21cm Doorway height: 6.4cm Behavioral Apparatus Results Conclusions 1)Both male and female mice were on average more interested in novel mouse 2 which is inconsistent with an autistic phenotype. 2)Both male and female mice showed a preference to be social during socialization. 3)Female mice are more social than male mice. 4)A larger sample size was needed to reduce variability. Key Points Figures 1 and 2: Most of the mice preferred being in the area of novel mouse 1. The mice disliked being alone. Key points Figure 2: The male mice, except for the 10X group, preferred novel mouse 2. The 10X group showed a more autistic behavior, a preference for the mouse they know better. Key Points Figure 3: The female treated mice showed behavior opposite the control mice (although not with significant data). The treated mice preferred novel mouse 2 while the control mice preferred novel mouse 1. Key Points Figure 5: The male mice showed a mixture of results; the 1X and 100X groups sniffed novel mouse 1 more than the control while the 10X group did not. All of the female experimental mice sniffed novel mouse 1 less than the control mice. Key points Figure 6: The male groups showed no sniff preference among novel mouse 1 and 2! Key points Figure 7: No definite conclusions could be drawn from the female mice sniff behavior. Left Chamber Right Chamber Left Chamber Right Chamber Novel Mouse 1 Novel Mouse 2