Dysregulation of brain serotonin (5-HT) neurotransmission is thought to underlie mental conditions as diverse as depression, anxiety disorders, bipolar disorder, autism, and schizophrenia. Despite treatment of these conditions with serotonergic drugs, the molecular mechanisms by which 5-HT is involved in the regulation of aberrant emotional behaviors are poorly understood. Here, we generated kn...

BACKGROUND Diacylglycerol kinase (DGK) is an enzyme that phosphorylates diacylglycerol (DG) to produce phosphatidic acid (PA). DGKβ is widely distributed in the central nervous system, such as the olfactory bulb, cerebral cortex, striatum, and hippocampus. Recent studies reported that the splice variant at the COOH-terminal of DGKβ was related to bipolar disorder, but its detailed mechanism is ...

Pleiotrophin (PTN) is an extracellular matrix-associated protein with neurotrophic and neuroprotective effects that is involved in a variety of neurodevelopmental processes. Data regarding the cognitive-behavioral and neuroanatomical phenotype of pleiotrophin knockout (KO) mice is limited. The purpose of this study was to more fully characterize this phenotype, with emphasis on the domains of l...

Schizophrenia is a disorder of a neurodevelopmental origin manifested symptomatically after puberty. Structural neuroimaging studies show that neuroanatomical aberrations precede onset of symptoms, raising a question of whether schizophrenia can be prevented. Early treatment with atypical antipsychotics may reduce the risk of transition to psychosis, but it remains unknown whether neuroanatomic...

Neurodevelopmental disorders, including autism spectrum disorder (ASD), are defined by core behavioral impairments; however, subsets of individuals display a spectrum of gastrointestinal (GI) abnormalities. We demonstrate GI barrier defects and microbiota alterations in the maternal immune activation (MIA) mouse model that is known to display features of ASD. Oral treatment of MIA offspring wit...

Kluver-Bucy syndrome is an uncommon syndrome of behavioral abnormalities following bilateral temporal lobe injury. Only four children have been reported previously with this syndrome. We report three additional pediatric patients who developed Kluver-Bucy syndrome following hypoxic insults. In two patients, features of the syndrome were transient. Problems in intermediate memory were present in...

to report the oral findings, including dental anomalies, ectopic eruption of the maxillary permanent first molars and periodontal disease and soft tissue alterations, in a subject with apert syndrome. clinical and radiographic examination of a patient with apert syndrome, aged 21 years old, not previously submitted for orthodontic or orthognathic treatment. dental anomalies were present in a pa...

orofacial clefts, including cleft lip with or without cleft palate (cl (p)), are common congenital malformations, second only to clubfoot in frequency of occurrence. the epidemiology and genetics of this disorder have been studied extensively in various countries by several investigators. the objective of this study is to assess the epidemiology and some genetic aspects of orofacial clefting at...

Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by abnormal reciprocal social interactions, communication deficits, and repetitive behaviors with restricted interests. Autism-relevant phenotypes in the inbred mouse strain BTBR T+tf/J (BTBR) offer translational tools to discover biological mechanisms underlying unusual mouse behaviors analogous to symptoms of autism. Two of the most consis...