Genetic changes linked to two different syndromic forms of autism enhance reinforcement learning in adolescent male but not female mice.

Unlabelled: Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is characterized by restricted and repetitive behaviors and social differences, both of which may manifest, in part, from underlying differences in corticostriatal circuits and reinforcement learning. Here, we investigated reinforcement learning in mice with mutations in either or , both high-confidence ASD risk genes associated with major syndromic forms of ASD. Using an odor-based two-alternative forced choice (2AFC) task, we tested adolescent mice of both sexes and found male and heterozygote (Het) mice showed enhanced learning performance compared to their wild type (WT) siblings.

Ten simple rules for the computational modeling of behavioral data.

Computational modeling of behavior has revolutionized psychology and neuroscience. By fitting models to experimental data we can probe the algorithms underlying behavior, find neural correlates of computational variables and better understand the effects of drugs, illness and interventions. But with great power comes great responsibility.