Social-valence-related increased attention in rett syndrome cynomolgus monkeys: An eye-tracking study
Abstract
The cognitive phenotypes of Rett syndrome (RTT) remain unclarified compared with the well-defined genetic etiology. Recent clinical studies suggest the eye-tracking method as a promising avenue to quantify the visual phenotypes of the syndrome. The present study explored various aspects of visual attention of the methyl-CpG-binding protein 2 gene mutant RTT monkeys with the eye-tracking procedure. Comprehensive testing paradigms, including social valence comparison (SVC), visual paired comparison (VPC), and social recognition memory (SRM), were utilized to investigate their attentional features to social stimuli with differential valence, the novelty preferences, and short-term recognition memory, respectively. To explore the neurobiological mechanisms underlying the eye-tracking findings, we assessed changes of the brain subregion volumes and neurotransmitter concentrations. Compared with control monkeys, RTT monkeys demonstrated increased viewing on the more salient stare faces than profile faces in the SVC test, and increased viewing on the whole presented images composed of monkey faces in the VPC and SRM tests. Brain imaging revealed reduced bilateral occipital gyrus in RTT monkeys. The exploratory neurotransmitter analyse...Continue Reading
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