Relationships among Parvalbumin-Immunoreactive Neuron Density, Phase-Locked Gamma Oscillations, and Autistic/Schizophrenic Symptoms in PDGFR-β Knock-Out and Control Mice

Cognitive deficits and negative symptoms are important therapeutic targets for schizophrenia and autism disorders. Although reduction of phase-locked gamma oscillation has been suggested to be a result of reduced parvalbumin-immunoreactive (putatively, GABAergic) neurons, no direct correlations between these have been established in these disorders. In the present study, we investigated such relationships during pharmacological treatment with a newly synthesized drug, T-817MA, which displays neuroprotective and neurotrophic effects. In this study, we used platelet-derived growth factor receptor-β gene knockout (PDGFR-β KO) mice as an animal model of schizophrenia and autism. These mutant mice display a reduction in social behaviors; deficits in prepulse inhibition (PPI); reduced levels of parvalbumin-immunoreactive neurons in the medical prefrontal cortex, hippocampus, amygdala, and superior colliculus; and a deficit in of auditory phase-locked gamma oscillations. We found that oral administration of T-817MA ameliorated all these symptoms in the PDGFR-β KO mice. Furthermore, phase-locked gamma oscillations were significantly correlated with the density of parvalbumin-immunoreactive neurons, which was, in turn, correlated with PPI and behavioral parameters. These findings suggest that recovery of parvalbumin-immunoreactive neurons by pharmacological intervention relieved the reduction of phase-locked gamma oscillations and, consequently, ameliorated PPI and social behavioral deficits. Thus, our findings suggest that phase-locked gamma oscillations could be a useful physiological biomarker for abnormality of parvalbumin-immunoreactive neurons that may induce cognitive deficits and negative symptoms of schizophrenia and autism, as well as of effective pharmacological interventions in both humans and experimental animals.