R-Baclofen Treatment Corrects Autistic-like Behavioral Deficits in the RjIbm(m):FH Fawn-Hooded Rat Strain

• Main Authors: Anita Varga (Author), Rita Kedves (Author), Katalin Sághy (Author), Dénes Garab (Author), Ferenc Zádor (Author), Balázs Lendvai (Author), György Lévay (Author), Viktor Román (Author)
• Format: Book
• Published: MDPI AG, 2024-07-01T00:00:00Z.
• Subjects: article
• Online Access: Connect to this object online.
• Notes: 10.3390/ph17070939; 1424-8247
• Keywords: fawn-hooded rat; autism; asocial; hypersensitive; R-baclofen; disease model; Medicine; R; Pharmacy and materia medica; RS1-441
• Source: Pharmaceuticals, Vol 17, Iss 7, p 939 (2024)

The Fawn-hooded rat has long been used as a model for various peripheral and central disorders and the data available indicate that the social behavior of this strain may be compromised. However, a thorough description of the Fawn-hooded rat is unavailable in this regard. The objective of the present study was to investigate various aspects of the Fawn-hooded rat's social behavior in depth. Our results show that several facets of socio-communicational behavior are impaired in the RjIbm(m):FH strain, including defective ultrasonic vocalizations in pups upon maternal deprivation, reduced social play in adolescence and impaired social novelty discrimination in adulthood. In addition, Fawn-hooded rats exhibited heightened tactile sensitivity and hyperactivity. The defects observed were comparable to those induced by prenatal valproate exposure, a widely utilized model of autism spectrum disorder. Further on, the pro-social drug R-baclofen (0.25-1 mg/kg) reversed the autistic-like defects observed in Fawn-hooded rats, specifically the deficiency in ultrasonic vocalization, tactile sensitivity and social novelty discrimination endpoints. In conclusion, the asocial, hypersensitive and hyperactive phenotype as well as the responsivity to R-baclofen indicate this variant of the Fawn-hooded rat strain may serve as a model of autism spectrum disorder and could be useful in the identification of novel drug candidates.