Trans-synaptic signaling and rhythmogenesis in the hippocampus

The CA2 region of the hippocampus has recently emerged as a central structure for social memory processing. Here, in vivo recordings from anesthetized animals have been used to assess the dynamics of neuronal signaling in the CA2 and CA3 hippocampal area. In vivo experiments from NLG3R451C knock-in mice, NLG3 knock-out mice and littermate controls have unveiled a selective impairment of spike-related slow wave activity in the CA2 area and a significant reduction in oscillatory activity in the theta and gamma frequencies range in both CA2 and CA3 regions of the hippocampus. Since transgenic mice are widely used as non-syndromic animal models of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs), data obtained in our experiments can be used by researchers interested in modeling brain activity underlying these neurodevelopmental disorders.