NIH Research Festival
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NIMH
NEURO-11
Fragile X Syndrome (FXS) is a genetic neurodevelopmental disorder that is caused by silencing the FMR1 gene. FXS leads to autism spectrum disorders in approximately 60% of patients. Many FXS patients also report sleep problems and these are correlated with more severe behavior. We studied the effect of increasing sleep on behavioral deficits in male Fmr1 knockout (KO) (n=8 per treatment group). We tested the effects of three sleep-promoting drugs: Dual orexin receptor antagonist (DORA), Ramelteon, and Zolpidem. Mice were administered vehicle orally starting at 70 days of age for 3 days followed by 8 days of drug treatment. Sleep was recorded by means of home cage monitoring during Days 1-7 followed by open field testing for hyperactivity and anxiety-like behavior and the three-chambered social behavior test. Results were analyzed by paired t-tests or three-way ANOVA. In Fmr1 KO mice, DORA and Zolpidem increased sleep (p
Scientific Focus Area: Neuroscience
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