Sunwhi Kim

Abstract Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disability condition arising from a combination of genetic and environmental factors. Despite the blood-brain barrier (BBB) serving as a crucial gatekeeper, conveying environmental influences into the brain parenchyma, the contributions of BBB in ASD pathogenesis remain largely uncharted.

Abstract We introduce the Monosynaptically-interconnected Network Module (MNM) approach, an innovative method designed for efficiently analyzing the anatomical structure and functional dynamics of specific brain network modules in vivo. Utilizing an Intein-mediated split-Cre system combined with bidirectional adeno-associated viruses, this technique precisely targets and manipulates monosynaptically interconnected modular subnetworks in freely moving animals.

Highlights • A subpopulation of prefrontal cortical neurons projects to the basolateral amygdala • ArpC3 circuit-selective knockout (ctKO) in PFC-BLA disrupts neural activity and social behavior • Optogenetic PFC-BLA activation recapitulates the social dysfunction of ctKO mice • Optogenetic PFC-BLA silencing rescues the social dysfunction in ArpC3 ctKO mice Summary Psychiatric disorders are highly heritable pathologies of altered neural circuit functioning.